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SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



WORKS BY 
WM. PAUL GERHARD, C.E. 

PUBLISHED BY 

JOHN WILEY & SONS 



A Guide to Sanitary Inspections. 

Fourth Edition, revised and greatly enlarged. 
1909. 12mo, x+229 pages, cloth, $1.50. 
H The new edition enlarges the scope of the 
book by taking into consideration not only 
city and country houses, apartment and 
tenement houses, but also public build- 
ings, hospitals, schools, and theatres. A 
large number of schedules for inspections, 
with questions are given. 
Theatre Fires and Panics: Their Causes and 
Prevention. 

12mo, vii + 175 pages, cloth, $1.50. 

In this volume Mr. Gerhard has stated clearly 
the main defective features of theatre 
buildings as they usually exist, how such 
defects can and should be avoided, and 
what safeguards should be introduced. 
American Architect. 

Mr. Gerhard evidently has studied his sub- 
ject carefully and his conclusions are 
perfectly sound. — New York Evening Post. 

The author has gone into the subject intelli- 
gently and thoroughly. — New York Tribune. 
Sanitation of Public Buildings (Hospitals, Theatres, 
Churches, Schools, Markets and Abattoirs). 

12mo, xi+262 pages, cloth, $1.50. 

The chapters on church, theatre, and hospital 
sanitation are of importance to all who 
frequent these edifices. — New York Times. 

As a comjjendium of information in small 
compass and handy form the volume de- 
serves commendation. — Engineering News. 
Modern Baths and Bathhouses. 

Illustrated with many Plans and Views. 8vo, 
xvi+311 pages, cloth, $3.00, net. 

The book is a useful manual on bath-houses 
and a valuable addition to our sanitary 
literature. — Architects and Builders' Maga- 
zine. 

The book is a very useful addition to the 
literature of sanitation and social welfare. 
— Engineering News. 

The subject is one of universal interest. — 

; London Engineering. 



GUIDE 



TO 



Sanitary Inspections 



BY 



WILLIAM PAUL GERHARD, G.E. 

Mem. Amer. Soc. Mechanical Engineers 



FOURTH EDITION, ENTIRELY REVISED AND ENLARGED 
FIRST THOUSAND 



NEW YORK 

JOHN WILEY & SONS 

London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited 

1909 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

JAN 12 1909 

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Copyright, 1885 

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BY 

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PREFACE 

In revising the fourth edition of "A Guide to Sani- 
tary House Inspection," it was deemed advisable to 
enlarge the scope of the book by adding considerable 
new matter. The matter of the original book has been 
thoroughly revised, and there are besides a new chapter 
on the sanitary inspection of public buildings and 
another on sanitary surveys of cities and towns. A 
novel feature is the embodying in the text of a large 
number of question schedules, relating to the sanitary 
inspection of city residences, tenement-houses, and 
apartments, country houses, schools, hospitals, theatres, 
and institutions. The majority of these question 
schedules have been prepared by the author and have 
been found useful in his practice as consulting engi- 
neer. 

The chief aim of this little volume is to outline broadly 
the main features of sanitary inspection work. While 
one of its aims is to instruct the layman, the house- 
holder, the owner of tenements, the principal of a school, 
the superintendent of a hospital, the manager of a 
theatre, it is believed that the book will be also useful 
to health and sanitary inspectors, to boards of health, 
to fire department officials, insurance companies' 
inspectors, and to architects, civil engineers, and 
building superintendents in general. 



vi PREFACE 

The principal scope of the book is to be a reliable 
guide and pocket-book for the search for sanitary 
defects. For this reason brevity was essential, and it 
was not feasible to give in detail the reasons why 
certain constructions or arrangements are deemed to 
be defective and unsanitary. Those who are in search 
of this latter information may find it in some of the 
other works of the author. A general bibliography on 
sanitary surveys and building inspections is placed at 
the end of the book. Its title has been changed in 
conformity with its revision, to Guide to Sanitary 
Inspections. 

Wm. Paul Gerhard 

New York, 33 Union Square, 
January 1, 1909 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Necessity of Sanitary Building Inspection 2 

"Skin" Buildings 5 

Essentials of a Healthful Home 8 

Inspection of City Houses 10 

Inspection of the Surroundings and of the Soil 11 

Inspection of the Cellar 12 

Inspection of the Yard 13 

Inspection of Structural Details 13 

Inspection of the Sewerage and Plumbing 16 

Inspection of the Water-supply 30 

Inspection of the Method of Garbage Disposal 31 

Inspection of the Arrangements for Warming the House . . 31 

Inspection of the Gas-lighting Arrangements 38 

Inspection of the Ventilation of the House 43 

Inspection of the Arrangements Insuring Safety against 

Fire 50 

Schedules for Sanitary Inspections of City Houses 52 

General Notes 52 

Surroundings 53 

Water-supply 54 

Cellar 55 

Basement 57 

Ground or First Floor 58 

Second Floor 59 

Third Floor 61 

Fourth Floor or Attic 61 

Roof 62 

Summary 62 

Additional Questions for Schedule of House Inspections. . 65 

Structural Details 65 

Safety from Fire 66 

Warming 66 



viii CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Schedules for Sanitary Inspections of City Houses — Continued. 

Gas Lighting 67 

Ventilation 68 

Garbage and Ashes 68 

Shorter Schedules 68 

Inspection of Apartment Houses 73 

Inspection of Tenement Houses 76 

Schedule for Sanitary Inspection of Tenement Houses 79 

General Construction 79 

Light and Air 79 

Cellar 79 

General Cleanliness 79 

Blank Form for Inspections used by the First Tenement-house 

Commission of N. Y. State 80 

Schedules for Sanitary Inspections of Tenement-houses used by 

Second New York State Tenement-house Commission . . 85 

Inspection of Country Houses 95 

Healthfulness of Town and Country Houses Compared . . 95 

Inspection of the Site 96 

Inspection of the House Foundations and Cellar 98 

Inspection of Walls, Roofs, and Rooms 99 

Inspection of the Heating Apparatus 102 

Safety from Fire 103 

Inspection of the Plumbing Work 103 

Inspection of the Water-supply 105 

Inspection of the Method of Disposal of Household Wastes . Ill 

Inspection of the House Surroundings 112 

Inspection of the Proper Removal of Storm-water ...... 114 

Schedule for Sanitary Inspection of Country Houses 115 

Shorter Schedules for Sanitary Inspections of Country Houses . 122 

Summer Boarding-houses and Summer Resorts 128 

Sanitary Inspection of Public Buildings 129 

Location, Soil, Site, and Surroundings 132 

Sanitary Requirements of Hospitals — The Grouping of the 

Buildings 134 

Drainage 135 

Sewerage and Sewage Disposal 136 

Water-supply 139 

Plumbing 141 

Toilet and Bath Rooms 143 



CONTENTS ix 

Sanitary Inspection of Public Buildings — Continued. page 

Plumbing Inspection 145 

Lighting, Natural and Artificial 146 

Warming and Ventilation 148 

Some Building Details 150 

Safety from Fire 152 

Removal of Waste Food and of Offal 157 

Maintenance of Cleanliness 158 

Schedule for Sanitary Inspection of Schools 161 

Schedule for Sanitary Inspections of Hospitals 182 

Schedule for Sanitary Inquiries Concerning Institutions other 

than Hospitals 187 

Theatre Inspections and Surveys 192 

In General 193 

Construction of Building 193 

Sanitation 195 

Water-supply for Fire Protection 197 

Apparatus for Extinguishing Fires 198 

Means for Egress for Players and Theatre-goers 199 

Heating Apparatus 201 

Lighting 201 

Scenery and Stage Apparatus 202 

Ventilators for Auditorium and Stage Roofs 202 

Watchman 202 

Maintenance of Cleanliness and Order 203 

Inspections 203 

Tests 203 

Exposure to Fire from Outside 203 

Summary and Conclusion 203 

Recommendations 204 

Sanitary Inspection of Dairies 205 

Schedules for Inspection of Dairies 205 

Sanitary Surveys of Cities and Towns 211 

Schedule for Sanitary Surveys of Cities 212 

Location, Population, and Climate 212 

Topography and Geology 213 

Water-supply 213 

Drainage and Sewerage 214 

Streets and Public Grounds 215 

Habitations and their Tenants 216 

Lighting 216 



x CONTENTS 

Sanitary Surveys of Cities and Towns — Continued. PA . GE 

Garbage and Refuse Disposal 217 

Markets 218 

Slaughter-houses 218 

Manufactures and Trades 219 

School-houses 219 

Public Libraries, Museums, Art Galleries 220 

Theatres, Churches, Amusement Halls, and other Public 

Buildings 220 

Hospitals 220 

Prisons, Jails, and Police Stations 220 

Public and People's Bath-houses 221 

Fire Department 221 

Public Parks and Boulevards 221 

Cemeteries and Modes of Burial 222 

Public! Health Laws and Ordinances 222 

Vital Statistics of the City 222 

Diseases of the Year and Epidemics 222 

Disinfection 222 

Municipal Sanitary Expenses 222 

Necessity of Periodical Inspection 224 

Bibliography on Sanitary Surveys and Inspections 227 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



" How can a house be a safe haven, if in winter the winds pierce 
it, if in summer the sun scorch it, if dampness rises in its walls, 
if foul air penetrates its chambers, if by neglect or ignorance the 
demons of fever enter and lurk therein?" 

Oliver B. Bunce: My House, an Ideal. 

The statement has recently been made, that, "of all 
the buildings put up in the United States, not one in a 
hundred is made to submit to any official regulation. 
The local government knows nothing of the plans of the 
builders or architects : there are no sanitary regulations, 
or attempts to insure protection against fire. No wonder 
that whole cities are destroyed by conflagration, and 
that malaria and disease are common throughout the 
country ! There is no provision by law securing proper 
drainage, sewerage, or safe construction in ninety-nine 
out of every hundred buildings erected in the United 
States." 

While the foregoing may not strictly apply to our 
largest cities, in which building-laws and sanitary regu- 
lations are now in force, yet there cannot be much 
doubt, that, even in these there is room for much 
improvement. That the statements quoted are true of 
the majority of buildings in smaller cities and towns, 
and of many of the country and suburban houses 
annually erected, nobody will deny. 



2 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Necessity of Sanitary Building Inspection 

Taken as a whole, the warning given ought to serve 
a useful purpose in calling attention to the serious risks 
incurred by people in occupying a dwelling without 
first having made or ordered a thorough inspection of 
the premises. Even when a temporary residence only 
is contemplated, it would not appear prudent to neglect 
such an investigation and inquiry. Health being the 
supreme consideration, the greatest stress should always 
be laid upon a detailed examination of the sanitary 
condition of the future home. Nevertheless, in by far 
the majority of instances, the public exhibits an utter 
indifference and carelessness with regard to this impor- 
tant matter. 

In choosing a home, the importance of a wholesome 
soil, of sound building materials, and of honest work- 
manship, is apt to be set aside by questions of conveni- 
ence and fashion, and a number of other considerations 
of lesser value. What is the prevalent custom with 
even well-educated people in choosing a dwelling? Dis- 
regarding the question of a salubrious site and of a 
sanitary construction, they are satisfied if the house 
stands in a nice street and a fashionable locality, and 
presents an attractive exterior. On entering such a 
house, the usual points inquired into are the sizes of the 
principal rooms, but particularly of the parlor, dining- 
room, and reception-room; the character of the hard- 
wood trimmings, of plate-glass mirrors, the elaborate 
decoration of mantle-pieces; the provisions made for 
look-outs, bay-windows, and plenty of closet space; the 
convenience of fittings, such as electric bells, speaking- 
tubes, dumb-waiters ; the elegance of the plumbing-fix- 
tures so far as they appear visible, in particular of showy 
marble tops of basins, of silver-plated faucets, costly 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 3 

decorated bowls, and hardwood cabinet-work incasing 
the plumbing. Briefly, it is the superficial appearance 
of all visible finish which exercises more influence upon 
intending buyers than the more serious considerations of 
stability, healthfulness, and safety. Only occasionally 
does it happen that an inquiry is made into the sta- 
bility and general character of the structure. 

No prudent man would think of buying a house with- 
out carefully examining the title of the property; and it 
is now regarded, in real-estate transactions, as a neces- 
sary expenditure to pay competent lawyers for services 
rendered in securing evidence as to the correctness of 
the title of a property before concluding any bargain. 
But not one out of a hundred or more purchasers deem 
it of sufficient importance to secure a certificate from 
an expert that the house is built in accordance with 
sanitary rules and regulations. And yet, if the buyer 
intends to make the house his future residence, his own 
health, and that of his family and household, will 
depend upon its cleanliness and salubriousness. The 
same remarks apply, with equal force, to houses for 
rent, located in the city, in the suburbs, or in the 
country, and their importance is particularly great in 
the case of institutions, like schools and hospitals. 
With all the weight of his experience as a sanitarian, 
Col. Waring advises: — 

"Let no family man lease any house without a 
guaranty of its sound sanitary construction. The 
question of value is too trifling to be thought about; 
and, as the world goes, houses are not less valuable 
because their plumbing is defective. We run the risk 
of losing, not money, but health and life; and these 
can be secured by the guaranty of no house agent or 
owner. It is a case where we need the guaranty of 
absolute knowledge. We ought not to hazard the safety 



4 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

of our family by moving them into, or by keeping them 
in, a house whose pipes and drains we do not know to be 
absolutely tight and strong, and to be suitably arranged 
as to connections, traps, and ventilation. Positive 
knowledge that the plumbing-work is in this sound 
condition is the only guaranty that the head of a 
family, whose eyes have been opened to the dangers 
of defective work, would be justified in accepting." 

It may not seem out of place to utter a word of 
caution to intending buyers or lessees of buildings, old 
or new, as to the acceptance of general and indefinite 
statements made to them by real-estate agents. Let 
it be understood, that it is not, at the present time, a 
part of the business of an agent to demonstrate the 
healthful condition of a property. He is simply acting 
in the interest of the owner or landlord who commis- 
sioned him to sell or to rent, as the case may be, a build- 
ing at as high a price, and under as favorable terms, as 
he may be able to secure. Undoubtedly, the time is 
near at hand when it will be considered indispensable for 
agents and owners to produce a certificate of the health- 
fulness and sound construction of a building; and the 
natural consequence will be that buildings having a 
proper sanitary certificate will command a much better 
price and find a more ready sale. At present, how- 
ever, the duty evolves upon the intending purchaser or 
lessee to secure expert evidence that a building is prop- 
erly arranged and constructed as regards its situation 
and subsoil, its construction, its ventilation, warming, 
lighting, and protection against fire, and its system of 
water-supply and sewerage. So good an authority in 
England as Mr. William Eassie, C.E., says: — 

"The wisdom of not entering upon residence in any 
old house until its healthy condition is vouched for by 
some competent authority, it would be a work of super- 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 5 

erogation to affirm, seeing how many sicken and perish 
for want of the most ordinary care in this respect. In 
town and in country alike, when this precaution has 
been neglected, Nemesis, in the form of some indispo- 
sition or another, is certain to overtake the careless 
occupant. This axiom is, unfortunately, applicable to 
modern houses built within the present decade, as 
many a sorrowing heart can testify." 

The conclusions at which we must arrive, from 
an earnest and thoughtful consideration of the facts 
stated, are that, before choosing for occupancy a home, 
in city or country, a householder should take the pre- 
caution to inquire carefully into its healthfulness and 
the character of its surroundings. A little time devoted 
to such a preliminary investigation, and a consideration 
of the facts elicited, are always well worth the trouble, 
and may save much subsequent illness, especially of 
those members of the family who are obliged to spend 
the greater part of each day at home. Those who can 
ill afford the time required for an investigation, or do 
not feel themselves competent to pass judgment, should 
not hesitate to ask expert advice in a matter which may 
hereafter affect the well-being of those whom they love 
most. It is particularly true of dwelling-house sanita- 
tion, that "an ounce of prevention is better than a 
pound of cure." 

"Skin" Buildings 

In cities and in rapidly growing suburbs it will be 
advisable to avoid, by all means, the cheap houses of 
the speculative or "jerry" builder, which are run up 
by the hundreds in an incredibly short time, without 
any considerations whatever of rules governing healthful 
house-construction; and if they bear a displayed adver- 



6 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

tisement of having been built "by day's work," and of 
being provided with perfect "sanitary plumbing and 
sanitary heating," we will not, generally, be far from 
right if we look upon them with all the more suspicion. 
Such "skin" houses may easily be recognized, however 
attractive they may be in outside appearance, by an 
inferior workmanship of details of construction other 
than those relating to sanitary arrangements. Health, 
comfort, convenience, and sound construction are, with 
them, too often sacrificed to mere outward elegance and 
fashion. 

Wherever we find that a house has settled consider- 
ably, owing to poor foundations, and exhibits walls full 
of cracks; wherever the brick-work is laid with the 
poorest kind of mortar; wherever the outer walls 
appear wet or splashed, owing to window-sills that do 
not project beyond the walls, and are not grooved on 
the under side so as to throw the water clear of the 
walls; wherever the plastering is unsatisfactorily done, 
and does not show well-planed and true surfaces ; where- 
ever floor-boards are loose, or show wide cracks favoring 
the accumulation of dirt and dust, and forming harbor- 
ing-places for vermin; wherever door-frames are out of 
plumb, and doors, windows, and shutters constructed 
of unseasoned wood, with panels full of cracks ; where- 
ever gas-fixtures hang out of plumb, or rattle with every 
footstep, owing to insufficient strength of the joists; 
wherever locks refuse to work, window-sashes stick, 
and sash-ropes are torn; wherever the paint soon scales 
or wears off; wherever the cold-air box is constructed 
of a poor material, with a multitude of cracks and 
crevices; wherever hot-air flues are insufficient in size, 
and carried close to unprotected wood-work; wherever, 
finally, the whole plumbing job appears to be " scamped," 
— there we may, with a tolerable degree of certainty, 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 7 

assume that sanitary conclerations have been neglected, 
that the sanitary work was imperfectly done, even if 
the building and health regulations have, to all super- 
ficial appearance, been complied with. 

It must be remembered, that, even in those cities 
where building and sanitary regulations are in force, 
and a large corps of efficient building and sanitary 
inspectors exercise a supervision of work in new build- 
ings, it is very difficult to prevent intentional frauds on 
the part of unscrupulous builders. As regards drain- 
age and plumbing of buildings, in particular, there 
always remains a chance for doing defective work, or 
using improper or poor materials, without necessarily 
violating any of the official regulations. 

One cannot live in a house of this kind, even if only 
completed just before occupation, without having before 
long serious defects appear, necessitating frequent and 
expensive repairs. Flues will not draw, being roughly 
and improperly constructed without smooth lining, and 
made insufficient in size; fire-places will smoke; the 
furnace will not heat a house, although a brisk fire turns 
the iron red-hot; water-pipes and traps will constantly 
freeze and burst in mid-winter, owing to carelessness of 
arrangement and to the light weight of the lead pipe 
used; faucets soon wear out, and drip; gas-flames burn 
with an unsteady, dim light, owing to the insufficient 
size of the gas-service pipes ; roofs leak, while dampness 
and mold appear in the cellar and sewer air from 
abominable pan-closets and dried-up cellar traps will 
soon fill the house. Living in such a house means having 
not only the constant annoyance of mechanics trying 
to repair an originally bad job, but — and this is infinitely 
more serious — it means frequent calls for the family 
physician, or continued low state of health of your wife 
and children. Avoid such houses, by all means. 



8 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

But, even where outward indications do not warrant 
the conclusion that a house is unsafe to live in, it is 
well to examine the building thoroughly, from cellar to 
garret, or to get an expert to make a report upon its 
condition. The investigations of the last twenty-five 
years, in preventive medicine, have advanced the 
knowledge of the laws of hygiene and of the conditions 
favorable to health, to such an extent that it is feasible 
to establish fundamental rules with regard to healthful 
house-construction. This is as far as the duty of medi- 
cal men should extend. It devolves upon architects 
and engineers to apply their practical knowledge in 
carrying out such arrangements and details of construc- 
tion as are best adapted to secure healthful conditions. 

In all sanitary inspections the principal aim is to 
inquire if such rules have been followed; and if not 
wherein and how far they have been violated. Sani- 
tary house-inspection covers a great many points 
worthy of discussion, and an effort is made in the follow- 
ing pages of giving at least the chief points which such 
examinations should embrace. 

Essentials of a Healthful Home 

It may be well, as an introduction to the subject, to 
state briefly the requirements of and the conditions 
which ought to prevail in a healthful house. What is 
true of dwellings applies equally to the larger buildings, 
such as hospitals, schools, institutions, and asylums in 
which a large number of inmates is housed. 

Broadly speaking, there should be in and about a 
habitation pure air, pure water, and a pure soil. To 
enumerate more in particular some of the principal 
requirements: the house should stand on a dry site, free 
from moisture or ground exhalations, and should be 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 9 

isolated from direct contact with the surrounding soil; 
it should have a light and cheerful aspect, and the sur- 
roundings should be in every way unobjectionable; it 
should be constructed with a view to constant and 
complete dryness of foundations, walls, and roof; it 
should have rooms of such a size as to prevent any over- 
crowding; there should be sufficient ventilation to 
remove any impurities from respiration, cutaneous 
perspiration, combustion of fuel, gaseous products of 
illumination, fumes from cooking, and vapors of steam 
and soap from the laundry, and noxious odors from 
plumbing-fixtures; it should have a free admission of 
pure outer air, of light, and of the sun's invigorating 
rays during at least a few hours each day. The house 
must be provided with efficient and unobstructed sewer- 
age, to remove at once all liquid household wastes; and 
with a good supply of pure and cool water for drinking 
and cooking purposes, for house-cleaning and laundry 
purposes, flushing of traps, fixtures, and waste-pipes. 
Besides, a house should be provided with means for a 
perfect distribution of an equalized and agreeable tem- 
perature; and with means for artificial lighting without 
deteriorating the atmosphere of halls and rooms. The 
protection from the danger of fire should be as complete 
as it is possible to make it; the removal of garbage and 
ashes should be prompt and regular, and effected with- 
out creating any offence; and there should be through- 
out the house as little as possible chance for the accumu- 
lntion of dirt and dust. 

"Domestic sanitation," says Dr. B. W. Richardson, 
one of the greatest sanitarians which England has had, 
"aims at constructing homes, or improving houses 
already constructed, so as to remove all defects which 
may affect health. The essentials for maintaining per- 
fect salubrity in a house are,— 



10 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

"1. It must present no facilities for holding dust or 
the poisonous particles of disease. 

"2. It must possess every facility for the removal of 
its impurities as fast as they are produced. 

"3. It must be free from damp. 

"4. It must be well filled with daylight, from all 
points that can be charged with light from the sun, with- 
out glare. 

"5. It must be charged with perfectly pure air in 
steady, changing currents. 

"6. It must be maintained at an even temperature, 
and must be free from draughts. 

"7. It must be charged with an efficient supply of 
pure and perfectly filtered water." 

In the following pages, the subject of sanitary inspec- 
tions will be taken up in this order: First come city 
houses, and much of what is brought up for discussion 
in connection with them applies also to suburban and 
country houses. But the latter differ from the former 
in many essentials, and hence country houses will receive 
separate treatment. In many cities, apartment and 
tenement houses exceed in number the individual dwell- 
ing-houses, and their sanitation is made the subject of 
a special inquiry. 

Following the private dwelling-houses, I shall discuss 
the more important public buildings, such as schools 
and hospitals, and including theatres, abattoirs, mar- 
kets, and milk dairies. 

A brief chapter will be devoted to the sanitary inspec- 
tion of summer resorts and that of cities and towns. 

Inspection of City Houses 

Let us begin with city houses. A good deal of in- 
genuity, coupled with some common-sense and large 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 11 

experience, are required in making a sanitary survey of 
a house. In making such an inspection, it is well to 
accept with caution all statements made by others, and 
to trust only to the observations of your own senses. 
Of course, some information may be gained by making 
inquiries, but one should feel certain that the parties 
conveying the information are entirely disinterested. 

Before entering a house, take a look at the street. 
Note its width and general direction, and observe par- 
ticularly the height of houses on the opposite side of 
the street; for upon this will, to a great extent, depend 
the cheerfulness of your front rooms. Avoid the neigh- 
borhood of tall apartment-houses, which rob the street 
and the houses of sunlight and pure air. Free and airy 
streets, and plenty of parks and breathing-spaces, are 
much to be desired in cities. The north side of a street 
is generally preferable; for here your front rooms will 
be sunny and warm in winter, and will enjoy the benefit 
of the cooling southern breezes in summer time. 

Inspection of the Surroundings and of the Soil. — In- 
quire carefully into the character of the neighborhood, 
and ascertain if any noisy factories or offensive trades 
are near by. Avoid the vicinity of slaughter-houses, 
stables, carpet-beating works, infectious hospitals, and 
the like. Observe the character and condition of the 
street pavement, which has more or less bearing upon 
the salubriousness of the street, and note particularly 
the cleanliness of the gutters. But, above all, look 
carefully into the character of the building site. 

If you should be able to refer to old topographical 
maps, showing the original water-courses and contours 
of the land, you will find these a great help in studying 
this all-important question. If the spot was originally 
a low, damp site, or a swamp, marsh, or pond, filled up 
to the street level, you may at once look upon the site 



12 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

with distrust. It is often a difficult matter to ascertain 
if such a locality has been well drained before the filling 
process was begun; and, as regards the material used 
for filling up the lot, it will hardly be necessary to 
warn against the possibility of its being a mixture of 
ashes, street-sweepings, garbage, rotten vegetation, and 
house refuse. If you value your health, you should at 
once abandon the idea of taking a house built on a 
site which has only recently been filled to the level 
of the street. Made land may be rendered available 
for building sites after some years; but, of course, even 
then a perfect isolation of the house from the surround- 
ing and underlying soil is required, and to investigate 
this will be one of your first duties. 

Even where the soil consists of gravel, sand, or loam, 
and much more so where it is clay or rock, the matter 
of drainage — that is, the removal of subsoil water, or 
the permanent lowering of the level of the ground water 
to a good depth below the cellar floor — requires careful 
attention. If subsoil drains are laid, their location 
should be ascertained, as well as the manner in which 
they are constructed, whether of stone or tiles; and par- 
ticular care should be devoted to their outlet, and to 
their thorough disconnection from the sewer or house- 
drain. 

Inspection of the Cellar. — Upon entering a house it 
will be well to direct your steps at once to the cellar. 
If this shows signs of dampness, if the floor is wet, or 
has pools of stagnant water, if the walls are dripping 
with moisture, or covered with a moldy growth — you 
may be sure that the house cannot be healthful. 

Examine with care the construction of the foundation- 
walls. See whether there is a damp-proof course to pre- 
vent the dampness from rising in the walls, whether the 
walls are coated inside and outside with asphaltum, and 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 13 

whether the wall is built hollow, or is provided with an 
area all around to keep off soil-moisture. See whether 
the walls in the cellar are kept in a proper and cleanly 
condition, and have recently been whitewashed. Note 
also the depth of the cellar floor below the sidewalk, 
and the clear height of the cellar. Look for gullies in 
the cellar floor, and see whether they are left untrapped, 
or are insufficiently trapped by a bell-trap forming the 
strainer to the gully, or by siphon-traps with shallow 
depth of water seal, which is readily lost by evaporation. 

Examine carefully the condition of the cellar floor. 
To isolate the house from the earth, the floor should 
have a layer of concrete at least four inches thick, 
finished on top with Portland cement, or, better still, 
with a layer of coal-tar pitch, or asphaltum. Note 
whether the cellar has ample movable windows for light 
and air, or a ventilating flue carried along a heated 
chimney flue. 

Inspection of the Yard. — Next go to the yard, and 
note its size and general condition, whether it is paved 
and well drained, whether it has a well, a privy in the 
rear, or a cesspool; and if so, measure the distances 
from each other, and from the house foundation walls. 
See if the yard is well kept, clean, and free from offensive 
slops or heaps of garbage. If there is a privy-vault, 
examine its construction, size, material, ventilation, and 
see if it is water-tight, and how full. If there is a cess- 
pool, or catch-pit for grease, examine its condition; see 
especially if it is leaching or tight. 

Inspection of Structural Details. — Returning to the 
house, it will be well, before taking up in detail the 
arrangements as to lighting, warming, ventilation, 
water-supply, and sewerage, to examine the general 
construction of the house, the material used for building, 
the character of the roof, the number of floors, the width 



14 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

and depth of the house, and the portion of the lot 
covered. In this connection it will be worth your while 
to study somewhat closely the character of the back 
buildings, and their distance from the rear of the house. 

In looking into the arrangement of the rooms, particu- 
lar attention should be given to the size and clear 
height of bedrooms, to the number and dimensions of 
windows, and to the ventilation and lighting of bed- 
chambers, closets, pantries, and storerooms. As to the 
walls, it should be remembered that new walls are 
always damp. In the process of building, an immense 
quantity of water is put into the walls of a house, which 
requires much time to be expelled, and which is much 
more difficult to expel after a house has once been 
occupied. Houses, therefore, ought not to be taken 
for occupancy immediately after the mechanics have 
left, for a damp house is always unhealthy. 

As to the inside finish of walls, the best surface, where 
perfect ventilation is otherwise provided for, would be 
one that is impervious, non-absorbent, and polished, 
which could be washed by means of a sponge with clean 
water and soap. All other surfaces, such as plaster, 
wood, paint, or varnish, absorb more or less organic 
impurities given off from the human skin. If walls are 
painted, it is better to varnish them, for then they are 
much easier cleaned. If the walls are papered, make 
sure that the wall-paper contains no poisonous mate- 
rial, such as arsenic. It should be remembered, too, 
that (contrary to the popular notion that bright green 
colors only may contain arsenic) color is no guaranty 
whatever as to freedom from arsenic. Arsenic has been 
detected in often large amounts in dull greens, and 
equally so in almost all other colors. Nothing but an 
examination of the individual sample of paper by chemi- 
cal analysis will decide this question. Another popular 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 15 

fallacy is to presume that the presence of arsenic in 
colors adds to their brightness. It is now admitted by 
manufacturers that equally bright-colored papers may 
be manufactured without it, and this at a cost not greater 
to the manufacturer. Arsenic detached from flocky 
wall-papers as dust may frequently be found deposited 
on the tops of furniture, pictures, doors, etc. But it is 
also developed and diffused in the air of rooms, as 
arseniuretted hydrogen, from contact with putrefying 
starch paste. It is well, even where there is no danger 
from arsenical poisoning, to ascertain that walls of 
papered rooms are not repeatedly covered with suc- 
ceeding layers of paper, each layer covering and retain- 
ing the organic impurities absorbed by the previous one. 

Next inspect the construction of the floors. Well- 
seasoned wood, free from notches or cracks, should be 
used. Floors should preferably be constructed of narrow 
hardwood boards, laid with close joints, and tongued, 
so as to prevent the dirt from falling through and 
accumulating in the closed spaces between the ceiling 
and the floor, or even lodging in the floor joints; for 
such organic dust is liable to putrefy, and may often 
become a source of danger to the purity of the air. For 
like reasons, floors should be, as much as possible, 
waterproof. The best floors are hardwood floors, laid 
with closely fitting joints, with a smooth surface, well 
oiled or waxed, and rubbed and polished. 

In going from one floor to another, the construction 
and easiness of the staircase should be observed, and 
notice taken whether the staircase hall is well ventilated 
and well lighted. See also if there is an ample accom- 
modation on the top floor for your servants; for you 
should not tolerate basement bedrooms, which are 
always unhealthy and stuffy, and generally dark and 
dreary. See if the roof is tight, and the chimneys above 



16 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

the roof well constructed and in a good condition. It 
is well to provide parapet walls with impervious coping- 
stones to prevent dampness from descending into the 
house walls. 

Inspection of the Sewerage and Plumbing. — The ex- 
amination of the sewerage and plumbing of a dwelling 
should be thorough and minute, for in no other detail 
of interior construction does "scamping" prevail to 
such an extent as here; and it is well to fix in your 
mind, in the preliminary tour of inspection just des- 
cribed, the location of the plumbing fixtures on the 
different floors of the house. This will be an excellent 
guide in following up the course of the various vertical 
lines of waste and soil pipes, and the location of their 
junction with the main cellar drain. The detailed 
inspection of the pipes and fixtures should begin in the 
cellar. 

If the house is old, the main drain is generally out of 
sight, and often difficult to find, being buried below 
the cellar floor, and left entirely without means of 
access. It is absolutely necessary to break up the floor 
concrete, to dig down to the drain and to open it, in 
order to examine its condition. 

Old houses often have square brick drains, large 
enough to remove the sewage of a whole village, usually 
in a bad and dilapidated condition, full of the filth 
accumulations from sinks and water-closets, and form- 
ing a veritable "elongated cesspool" under a house. It 
need hardly be stated that such a condition renders a 
house absolutely uninhabitable. An equally bad adjunct 
of such drains is the so-called mason's trap, often and 
more appropriately called a cesspool trap, serving to 
disconnect the house from the sewer, but in reality 
forming a most disgusting and dangerous cesspool. 

If the house is of a more recent construction, the 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 17 

main drain may be of cement or terra-cotta pipe. In 
either case it is usually of far too large a size to keep 
clean; and, as a rule, it has leaky joints, causing the 
contamination of the soil under the house, and also 
accumulations of solid filth, or else stoppages in the 
pipes. The round running traps used with such drains, 
to keep off the air from the sewer or cesspool, are often 
of defective make or improper shape, and should always 
be opened and examined as to their freedom from 
accumulation of sediment and scum. Cement and 
earthen drains are alike objectionable inside and under 
habitations. 

A point at which leakages are very apt to be found 
is at the junction between vertical soil-pipes with such 
earthen drains. The drain may have settled, and the 
contents of the soil-pipe are simply poured, day after 
day, into the ground; and such condition of affairs, 
which is by no means unusual in some of the finest city 
mansions, may have existed for years without having 
been noticed, thus rendering the soil under the cellar 
floor a perfect hot-bed for germs of disease. 

One should make it a rule, in inspecting a house-drain, 
to make observations regarding the free flow of water 
through it, by discharging a water-closet, a bath-tub, or 
other fixture, and thus to gain valuable indications as 
to the inside condition of pipes, which will enable a 
person to make sure that there are no obstructions, 
stoppages, or leakages. 

In modern town-houses we find, as a rule, the main 
drain carried above the floor, of iron, generally along- 
side one of the foundation walls. If it is provided with 
hand-hole fittings or inspection holes, it is advisable to 
open these at frequent points, to ascertain definitely 
the interior condition, and to test the free flow of the 
house-drain. If the drain has only little fall, or is 



18 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

unnecessarily large in diameter, or is insufficiently sup- 
ported, and hence presents sags or depressions, and a 
generally uneven alignment and grade, it will not be 
free from accumulations. 

Particular attention should be paid to the pipe-joints, 
which ought not only to show no signs of leakage of 
water, but ought to be made so as to remain perfectly 
and securely air-tight. If the pipe happens to be 
painted with white lead, a brown discoloration at the 
upper part of the pipe, near the joint, usually indicates 
a leakage of sewer air. It should be ascertained if the 
main drain is trapped or left untrapped ; and if there is 
a trap, its size and shape must be noted. See also if 
there is a good-sized air-inlet just inside of the trap, 
leading to outdoors, to establish a circulation of air 
in the pipes. Inspect also the location of the air-inlet, 
note its distance from windows, from the cold-air box 
of the heating-apparatus; and if it terminates in a box 
with open grating in the sidewalk, see whether the 
opening is not obstructed by dirt, or in winter-time by 
ice or snow. If the trap is accessible — but it usually 
is not, although it is important that it should be — 
have it opened and examined; and this is a quite con- 
venient point to test the free flow of the soil and waste 
pipes, and drains. It should be observed, when the 
trap is placed inside the cellar walls, if the cover of the 
inspection opening closes air-tight. 

Having examined the main drain, all its various 
branches in the cellar must be spotted out, and carefully 
scrutinized as to size, material, joints, grade, and manner 
of connection with the main drain; T-branches always 
being quite objectionable and inadmissible in good 
work. Drain-pipes removing the surface water from 
front and rear yards and from basement areas, must 
be included in the examination. It is very important 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 19 

to inquire into the method of trapping such wastes, for 
here evaporation of the water-seal is a frequent occur- 
rence. 

The removal of rain-water from the roof should also 
be properly performed. In old houses the soil-pipe is 
frequently made to do service as a conductor pipe; in 
which case the danger of siphonage of traps under fix- 
tures is much increased. In houses recently built, the 
leaders form separate pipes, placed either outside of 
the house or sometimes inside of the walls. The 
method of trapping such leaders must be diligently 
inquired into, especially if their tops open near attic 
windows or close to a light-and-air shaft. 

Following the examination of the house-drain, the 
soil-pipe must be traced throughout its whole course 
and examined as to its soundness and ventilation; and 
this inspection is often rendered quite difficult where 
pipes are hidden from view, as is the case in older houses, 
where they are commonly built into the walls, and very 
difficult of access. Much time is often lost in trying to 
trace the course of such inaccessible pipes. 

Soil-pipes of lead prevail in older buildings, and are 
generally found honeycombed and corroded by foul 
gases, owing to the utter want of proper ventilation; 
for the soil-pipe usually stops at the highest fixture, or 
has, at best, a small and entirely insufficient vent-pipe 
extended up to the roof. For this reason it is advisable, 
in old houses, always to have the soil-pipe completely 
exposed by tearing up the walls and removing the 
plastering. Soil-pipes of iron, insufficiently ventilated, 
are also sometimes honeycombed, and distribute sewer 
air throughout a house. Moreover, they are, as a rule, 
defective in the joints. It should be borne in mind that 
every soil-pipe, and also every waste-pipe stack, ought 
to be made perfectly air- and water-tight, and be ex- 



20 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

tended — without any bends if possible — at least full 
size through, and several feet above, the roof. On 
going up to the roof, it is easy to ascertain whether or 
not these conditions have been complied with. It is 
equally important to make sure that the free outlet 
above the roof is not reduced in size, or obstructed by 
ventilating-caps, return-bends, or cowls. All of these 
are not only unnecessary, but bad at all times, and posi- 
tively harmful in winter time when the top of the soil- 
pipe clogs through hoar-frost, causing siphonage of 
traps, or forcing of traps by back-pressure, in houses 
where the plumbing is otherwise well arranged. This 
is especially likely to happen if the fresh-air inlet opens 
in a box in the sidewalk, and has the grating of its open- 
ing obstructed or closed by mud and snow. While on 
the roof, it should also be noted if the soil-pipe ter- 
minates near chimney-flues, or shafts of any kind 
serving for ventilation. 

It should be ascertained whether the soil-pipe is put 
together with light or heavy iron pipes, whether it is 
entirely free from flaws or cracks, and whether the 
joints are well made and perfectly tight. The same 
care is, as a matter of course, required in examining 
vertical lines of waste-pipes. It is of advantage to test 
the soundness of the whole pipe-system by applying 
either the smoke test, or the peppermint test, or else 
a test by means of a force-pump and a pressure-gauge. 
The water-pressure test, consisting in filling all pipes up 
to a certain level with water, valuable as it is for new 
work, is difficult of application in testing plumbing- 
work in old houses. I shall not need to enter into a 
detailed description of the above tests, as they have 
been sufficiently explained in handbooks of house- 
drainage. The peppermint test is easily applied by 
laymen, and its indications are exceedingly useful. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 21 

The extremely pungent, volatile essences of oil of 
peppermint are well-known to everybody. It is obvious 
that if such oil of peppermint is introduced into a 
system of house-drainage, the slightest leak may easily 
be revealed by the smell escaping into the house. The 
best place to introduce the peppermint is at the roof; 
for, if poured into a water-closet or slop-sink at the 
upper 4 floor of a house, the smell would be too readily 
diffused from this fixture directly into the house, and 
thus would interfere with the proper search for leaks. 
The fresh-air inlet would, in some cases, constitute 
a handy place for the introduction of the oil; but in 
this case all front windows ought to be kept closed 
during the test. ' In any case, it is important that the 
peppermint be not carried much about the house; and 
it is absolutely necessary that the helper who pours 
the oil remains out-of-doors, or at the roof, until the 
test is concluded, for otherwise he would carry the 
pungent odor attaching to his clothes into the house. 
Three or four ounces of pure peppermint oil are suffi- 
cient, and should be followed up immediately with a 
few pails of very hot or boiling water. In order to 
confine the volatile oil in the pipes, it is well to close, 
during the test, the openings of all soil and waste pipes 
above the roof. Meanwhile, the inspector or the house- 
holder follows up each line of waste and vent pipe, and 
observes if any smell appears at any fixture, in order to 
determine, at least approximately, the location of a 
leak. No fixture should be discharged or used in the 
house during this test, as the disturbance of the water- 
level in the trap may liberate some of the smell of 
peppermint. 

The smoke test — in which smoke is forced, by means 
of a blower, into a house-drain — is superior to the test 
described, in so far as it fixes exactly, by the appearance 



22 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

of the smoke, the location of the leak. Other means 
have been proposed, from time to time, for testing the 
soundness of pipes and traps. It is said that musk, 
introduced from out-doors into the drains, is readily 
diffused, and discloses leakages. It is also contended 
that, if acetate of lithium or tellurium is passed through 
soil-pipes, their presence or escape may be detected in 
the house, by means of the spectroscope, by their 
characteristic lines. It is evident that such tests, while 
useful, are not so practical, because they require the 
use of delicate and expensive optical instruments. 

Having examined the pipe-system, the next step is 
to inspect the plumbing fixtures, their waste pipes, 
traps, and connections with the main pipes. To do 
this efficiently and thoroughly, involves the removal 
of all wood-work about sinks, basins, water-closets, 
and slop-hoppers. The condition of the enclosed spaces 
and of the wood-work should be carefully noticed, and 
will, as a rule, be found to show much foulness, dirt, 
and dampness from leakage. 

The material and particular construction of every 
plumbing appliance must be inspected in detail. The 
sizes of waste-pipes and of traps should be noted; and 
also — although this is a matter of some difficulty — the 
thickness and weight of the lead pipes. Joints should 
be closely examined — -those between lead pipes, which 
should be wiped and not bolted joints; and those 
between lead and iron pipes, which should be made by 
means of a brass ferrule. 

The servants' water-closet, which in the older houses 
is usually found in the cellar, shows, as a rule, a sadly 
neglected state of affairs, being rendered foul from 
spillage, sloppage, leakage, and slovenliness in use, and 
also being utterly without means of ventilation. The 
fixture is, in most cases, a cheap and unsatisfactory 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 23 

hopper-closet, with rough iron surface, rendered foul 
by an insufficient flush from a supply valve operated 
automatically by a depression of the seat, or by a pull-up 
arrangement which is often forgotten by servants. 
Sometimes the servants' closet is an equally objection- 
able pan-closet with feeble valve-flush. 

The fixtures in the basement are the laundry tubs, 
the kitchen sink, and possibly a wash-basin. If the 
laundry tubs are of wood, they often emit a foul smell, 
due to absorption of organic matter and filth, and 
present a more or less rotten interior. The trap is 
usually too large, and probably half-choked with soap- 
suds and accumulation of sediment. It may not be 
protected against siphonage, loss of seal by momentum, 
or back-pressure. In other instances it is entirely 
absent. The joint of the lead waste-pipe with the main 
drain is often imperfectly made with putty or cement. 
Kitchen sinks in older houses are usually trapped by a 
bell-trap attached to the loose sink-strainer, which is 
either displaced or lost, thus allowing the free entrance 
of sewer-air. The kitchen sink often discharges into a 
large basement grease-trap choked with putrid fat, and 
always objectionable. 

The parlor floor seldom contains any other fixtures 
than a pantry sink near the dining-room, with the 
usual defects relating to piping, trapping, and ventila- 
tion. 

The bathroom requires careful search for defects. 
Not only is the water-closet usually of a bad construc- 
tion, and defective in workmanship, with an ill-arranged 
seat, and no ventilation to the apartment, but the 
wash-basin and the bath-tub have each waste-pipes 
without traps near the fixtures, the wastes being 
trapped only by being run into the almost always foul 
water-closet trap. Besides having long lengths of slimy 



24 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

and foul waste-pipes in direct communication with the 
room, both fixtures have hidden overflow channels; 
and, moreover, the almost universal dirty plug and 
chain arrangement is used. Water-closets situated in 
the centre of the house ought always to be looked upon 
with suspicion, unless plenty of ventilation is provided 
for by artificial means; and if they are fitted up with a 
"patent disinfecting apparatus," there is all the more 
reason for distrusting them. It is astonishing to see 
what a number of well-educated people commit the 
blunder of trusting to such worthless devices, which 
are nothing more than disguisers of the odor, or, at the 
best, mere stink destroyers. Instead of striking at the 
root of the evil, by removing a foul trap or defective 
water-closet, and by arranging the soil-pipe with a 
proper circulation of air, much money is uselessly 
thrown away in buying such "quack" remedies. 

It is time that the public should know that, valu- 
able as the sense of smell may be as an indication that 
something is wrong, it is not so much the smell which 
causes serious harm. Sewer air may be entirely de- 
prived, by deodorizers or otherwise, of its characteristic 
odor, and yet be able to cause serious illness. It is 
far from me to underestimate the value of real disin- 
fection in cases of infectious disease; but true disin- 
fectants must destroy the organic impurities and germs 
of disease, and not merely disguise a bad smell. 

What we need more than anything else in our 
homes, and in particular at our plumbing fixtures, is 
cleanliness and pure air. A daily application of hot 
water, soap, and a scrubbing-brush, a good flush, and 
plenty of ventilation, are quite sufficient to keep any 
water-closet or slop-hopper sweet under all ordinary 
circumstances. When a zymotic disease occurs in the. 
house, or an epidemic rages in a city, then it is 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 25 

time for disinfection by strong chemical disinfect- 
ants. 

As a rule, the separation of the water-closet from 
the bath is desirable in city houses, unless there are a 
larger number of bath-rooms connected with dressing- 
rooms. This does not, however, necessarily imply that 
the bath and the water-closet should have separate 
vertical waste-pipes. They may discharge into the 
same soil-pipe, but preferably through independent 
outlets. A multiplication of water-closets or other 
fixtures is not, however, desirable, especially if they 
would not be constantly used. 

Urinals are, as a rule, offensive and difficult to clean, 
and they should not be tolerated at all in private 
houses. Pan-closets, found even to-day in finer houses, 
with otherwise good plumbing- work, are generators of 
sewer air, and in every way an abomination. But, 
whatever the kind of apparatus used, it should be 
closely inspected, especially as regards the condition of 
the wood-work enclosing fixtures, and also as to leak- 
age, trapping, and flushing. The flush should always 
be derived from a special water-closet cistern, and the 
inspector should ascertain if the overflow from this 
cistern is properly arranged. If the water-closet has 
a trap below the floor, its condition should be noted, 
and the joint at the floor inspected, which is often 
leaky, owing to the sagging of the trap. At other times 
the trap is found to have tipped to one side, thus 
causing the loss of the water-seal. Safe-pipes from 
water-closet trays are often found running into the 
trap of the closet, an arrangement as imperfect as it 
is dangerous. 

On the upper floor of a house we often find a slop- 
sink, usually in a very foul condition, insufficiently 
trapped, and without ventilation to the usually dark 



26 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

and stuffy closet in which it is placed. It is often 
overlooked by builders that slop-hoppers require a 
strong flush to keep the sides of the vessel clean, and 
that they should have a fixed strainer to prevent 
obstructions. 

Of all the fixtures in a house, however, none demand 
a closer investigation than the "set" wash-basins, 
located, in city houses, between the front and rear 
bedrooms. Objectionable as such fixtures are in any 
case in sleeping-rooms, they are rendered still more so 
by the bad planning and arrangement of their waste- 
pipes. Their traps, usually of much too large calibre, 
and hence forming miniature cesspools, are easily 
siphoned, or rendered useless by evaporation or back- 
pressure, by tipping over, or loss of seal by capillary 
attraction, caused by hair or lint hanging over the 
bend of the trap. In older houses their waste-pipes are 
carried, with rare exceptions, almost horizontally 
across floors and halls to the soil-pipe, or into the 
water-closet trap. The space under the basins is 
tightly boxed up, or, if accessible, is used to hide 
away all sorts of used-up household articles; and the 
enclosed space sadly lacks ventilation. It is usually 
damp, full of dust, or even filthy. Moreover, the 
leaden tray or "safe," arranged to prevent damage to 
ceilings caused by leakage or accidental overflow, is 
provided with an untrapped "drip-pipe"; or, if the 
latter is trapped, the trap is rendered useless by evap- 
oration. Particular care is necessary wherever such 
traps are so arranged as to be supplied by small feed- 
pipes. The latter often stop up through sediment, or 
fail to work from some cause or other, and hence should 
always be considered objectionable as giving a false 
sense of security. It is only in houses built within 
the last five years that we find drip-pipes entirely dig- 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 27 

connected from the foul pipe-system of the house. 
Even then it is advisable to test such drip-pipes, as 
well as disconnected overflow pipes, by pouring water 
through them to ascertain their true course, and to 
locate the outlet of each of them; above' all, to make 
sure against "dummy" pipes. Much the best plan is 
to do away entirely with safes and safe-wastes; for 
they form channels of communication between various 
parts of a house, and often carry offensive odors from 
the basement or kitchen into bedrooms or bathrooms. 

I have not attempted to give an exhaustive list of 
defects in the drainage or in the plumbing, but have 
simply called attention to some of the graver mistakes 
frequently found in even the better class of houses. 
Amongst other not less serious defects which are fre- 
quently found, I may mention the following: 

Broken drains; 

Drains improperly laid, or without proper foundation, 
or with fall the wrong way; 

Old cesspools under houses, forming a perfect gas- 
ometer for poisonous gases and noxious emanations; 

Badly jointed pipes; 

Choked pipes and traps; 

Pipes obstructed by entrance of tree-roots; 

Junctions made by cutting, roughly, holes into pipes; 

Bends in drains made with straight pipes instead of 
with elbow-fittings, 

Soil-pipes joined to the drain with T-branches instead 
of curves or Y-branches ; 

Traps placed at the foot of vertical soil or waste 
pipes ; 

Vent-pipes or soil-pipes run into flues, and often ob- 
structed by soot; 

Upper ends of soil-pipes stopping below the roof in- 
side of the house; 



28 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Lower ends of soil-pipes broken off by drain settling; 

House-drains not connected at all with the sewer; 

Extensions of vent-pipes or soil-pipes through the 
roof, made with galvanized sheet-iron pipes and loose 
"slip" joints; 

All kinds of by-passes in vented traps, whereby 
traps are rendered useless, and sewer air finds an exit 
into rooms; 

Dummy vent-pipes; 

Connections between ventilation pipes at the house 
side of traps, with soil or vent-pipes; 

Soil-pipes terminating near, or on a level with, 
ventilating-shafts, chimney-flues, or below dormer 
windows; 

Nails driven into lead soil or vent pipes; 

Refrigerator wastes having a direct connection with 
a sewer or drain; 

Iron soil-pipes full of sand-holes covered with tar 
or asphalt; 

Split hubs in iron soil-pipes; 

All kind of defective and fraudulent joints; 

Traps placed at a distance from fixtures; 

One trap only used for several fixtures; 

The double trapping of fixtures; 

Traps unsealed by tipping; 

Reservoir and cesspool traps; 

D-traps ; 

Gullies with bell-traps; 

Untrapped overflow pipes; 

Waste-pipes with fall the wrong way; 

Connection of overflow and vent-pipes ; 

Sink-pipes choked with grease; 

Leader pipes used to carry off foul wastes; 

Untrapped leader pipes opening near upper windows; 

Defective water-closet apparatus; 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 29 

Concealed or secret waste or overflow arrangements ; 

and water-tanks placed in improper places, for in- 
stance, in the same apartment with the slop-hopper. 

It may here be remarked, that the popular notion 
that the so-called "sewer gas" is a specific gas is a 
fallacy; and the question often asked by people, how 
the presence of "sewer gas" may, by some easy test, 
be detected in a room, is absurd. It should be under- 
stood that there is no such thing as "sewer gas," and 
what is usually so called should more correctly be 
named sewer air, for it is simply air more or less con- 
taminated by products of decomposition emanating 
from foul vessels or fixtures, from sink, waste, and soil 
pipes; or from house-drains, street-sewers, privy-vaults, 
or cesspools. 

Sewer air, in other words, is an ever-varying mixture 
of gases; and of those that are deleterious the more 
prominent are sulphuretted hydrogen, sulphide of 
ammonium, and carburetted hydrogen; while am- 
monia, carbonic acid, and occasionally carbonic oxide 
derived from leakage of illuminating gas into sewers, 
are present in more or less large proportions. The 
effects caused by breathing such impure air are nausea, 
vomiting, a general feeling of discomfort, loss of appe- 
tite, sometimes blood-poisoning, and a reduced state 
of health, which renders the body more prone to attacks 
of zymotic disease. 

The real danger consists in the dirt and dust, particles 
of organic matter, and living microscopic organisms 
(the germs of disease) floating in sewer air, and causing 
the outbreak or the spread of some preventable disease, 
such as diphtheria, typhoid fever, cholera, diseases of 
the bowels, etc. Though the sense of smell occasion- 
ally may afford a warning as to the presence of deleteri- 
ous gases escaping through imperfect pipes and fixtures, 



30 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

yet it should not be relied upon; for invisible poisons, 
frequently the most dangerous, are often present in 
our homes. 

Inspection of the Water-supply. — The water-pipes, 
faucets, the kitchen-boiler, and the water-tank should 
all be included in the examination of the plumbing- 
work. See, first, whether the water-supply is constant 
on all floors of the house; and, should the pressure in 
the mains be insufficient, see if a cistern and a force- 
pump of some kind are provided. As to the water- 
pipes, observe if they are carelessly arranged, unpro- 
tected against freezing, or even buried in the wall, 
rendering it difficult to trace them throughout their 
whole course. Note if the water-pipes are run with a 
continuous grade, so that they may be completely 
emptied if desired. To accomplish this, there should 
be a stop and waste cock in the cellar, located near 
the point where the water-pipe enters the house. 

Joints in water-pipes, if these are of lead, are often 
improperly made, and the pipes carelessly run without 
being well fastened to boards with metal tacks. Joints 
in brass or iron pipes are often leaky. The kitchen- 
boiler may also be leaky or patched up, showing that it 
has previously been bursted, owing probably to a 
defective arrangement of the hot-water supply system. 

The tank in the attic requires particular considera- 
tion, as the water in it may easily be rendered foul by 
an overflow connection to a soil-pipe, or by drawing 
the flushing-water for water-closet valves directly from 
it, instead of using proper waste-preventing cisterns 
over each closet, these being in turn supplied from 
self-closing ball-cocks. A thick mud is frequently 
found at the bottom of drinking-water tanks: hence, 
such tanks should always be placed in a position where 
they are easily got at for cleaning and examination. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 31 

In all cases where water for drinking or cooking pur- 
poses must necessarily be drawn from the tank in the 
attic, this should be frequently emptied, and its bottom 
and sides scrubbed and cleaned. It is important to 
ascertain if a drinking-water tank is constructed of or 
lined with proper materials, such as tinned copper or 
slate, and not with lead or galvanized iron. 

The supply to bath-tubs should always be over the 
top of the tub, and not by means of a mixing- valve at 
its bottom. 

A plan of the house, drawn to scale, and showing in 
detail all the drains, soil and waste-pipes, service-pipes, 
stop-cocks, hand-holes, traps, etc., is always a great 
aid in making a sanitary house-inspection, but it is 
very seldom that it is available. 

Inspection of the Method of Garbage Disposal.— 
Having completed the examination of the plumbing, 
drainage, and water-supply, the next point requiring 
attention is the proper removal of the solid house- 
refuse. This ought never to be attempted by aid of 
the sewers and drain-pipes. There should be two dis- 
tinct receptacles — one for ashes only, and the other 
for kitchen offal and garbage. Much of the latter may 
be disposed of in a simple, yet efficient manner, by 
being dried and carbonated, and then burned in the 
kitchen range. Ashes and garbage ought to be re- 
moved from houses by entirely separate scavenger 
carts. Swill-pails, as well as ash-barrels, should not be 
of wood, but of galvanized iron, circular in shape, fitted 
with a well-closing cover, and they should be kept at 
all times most scrupulously clean. 

Inspection of the Arrangements for Warming the 
House. — The next step in the inspection is to look into 
the arrangements for warming the house. Defective 
heating and ventilating arrangements may become the 



32 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

cause of debility, nervousness, and. general loss of 
strength and health, as well as of pulmonary diseases; 
and hence it is very important to inquire with care 
into this matter. 

The heating-apparatus most usually found in city 
houses of moderate size is the warm-air furnace; in 
some cases we find a steam-heating or a hot-water 
apparatus used. All these are placed in the cellar of 
the house, in a central position. Local heating by 
stoves is common only in the smaller houses, or is 
adopted for minor rooms of larger houses. Openings 
are then provided into chimney-flues to receive the 
stove-pipe, leading smoke and gases of combustion 
from the stove into the chimney. Stoves, being usu- 
ally a part of the movable furniture of a household, 
need not here be considered. 

In the principal rooms of the better class of houses 
we also find an auxiliary heating-apparatus, namely, 
an open fire-place. The examination of these may be 
confined to the arrangement and size of the flues. It 
should be noted whether the fire-place is of the ordinary 
kind or one of the improved, so-called ventilating fire- 
places, in which case the channel for the admission of 
fresh air should be inspected. 

Much more important is the detailed examination of 
the warm-air furnace in the cellar, or of the steam- 
boiler or hot-water apparatus. Note whether the 
furnace is portable or set in brickwork; whether con- 
structed of wrought-iron, soapstone, cast-iron, or of a 
combination of wrought and cast iron. Measure the 
dimensions of the furnace to get at an approximate 
estimate of its available radiating surface. See to it 
that the furnace is of proper size, so as to heat the 
house comfortably without being at any time over- 
heated, or delivering too hot air into the rooms. Care- 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 33 

fully examine the joints of the furnace (the fewer 
there are the better), and see if they have not become 
untight, owing to contraction and expansion of the 
metal. Look for leaks in the furnace at other places 
than the joints, and observe the construction of the 
fire-pot, and whether it is lined properly with fire- 
brick; for such a lining does good service in preventing 
excessive overheating of the metal. 

Next, take a look at the size and run of the smoke- 
pipe, and note the presence or absence of a check 
clamper in it. See also if ample provision is made for 
the evaporation of water. A mixing arrangement for 
cold air from the air-chamber, and warm air to regulate 
at will the temperature of the air entering the rooms 
through the registers, is very desirable, but seldom 
applied to warm-air furnace apparatus. Above all, 
look for the cold-air box. Its absence is a cardinal 
defect in all central heating-apparatus, as it is posi- 
tively objectionable to take the air-supply to the living 
and sleeping rooms from the cellar; for, except in 
houses where unusual care is taken to ventilate the 
latter properly, its atmosphere is a mixture of noxious 
emanations from a filthy cellar closet, of sewer air 
passing up from a dried-up gully-trap, assisted by the 
suction of the house chimneys, and possibly gases of 
decay emanating from rotten vegetables or forgotten 
house-refuse. If there is a cold-air box to the heating- 
apparatus, see of what material it consists, and how it 
is constructed and put together. Examine carefully 
for cracks or imperfect joints. Wooden air-boxes are 
not to be recommended on this account, they are 
besides dangerous on account of fire. If the cold-air 
channel is located below the cellar floor, it is advisable 
to open it to ascertain whether the channel is sufficient 
in size, smooth, and clean, and unobstructed, and kept 



34 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

perfectly dry. If ground water is liable to rise to near 
the height of the channel, the cold air should preferably 
be admitted by a channel situated near the cellar 
ceiling. All air-boxes form convenient receptacles for 
dirt, insects, cobwebs, dust, and organic impurities, 
and hence ought to be made, if possible, accessible, 
so as to be cleaned from time to time. Most important 
of all is the opening of the cold-air box to the outer 
atmosphere. In city houses it is preferable to locate it 
at the rear of the house, in order to take the air from 
the yard, thereby avoiding the dust from the street. 
The opening should not be near the level of the ground, 
terminating at a cellar window; nor should it be near 
any ventilating-pipe for drains, near a yard gully or 
yard privy, or a cesspool; nor should the ash-barrel, 
dust-bin, or any accumulation of rubbish be allowed 
near it. It is preferable to have the inlet placed at 
least ten feet above the level of the yard; and its 
opening should always — and especially if only a few 
feet above the ground — be suitably protected by wire 
netting against entrance of cats, rats, mice, or vermin. 
Wherever the air is loaded with street dust or par- 
ticles of soot or impurities, it may become necessary 
to filter the air by means of cotton wads placed at the 
entrance of the cold-air box. These, however, require 
frequent renewal, as they soon clog, and obstruct the 
free admission of air. It is advisable to have in the 
cold-air channel a movable slide to regulate the amount 
of air admitted to the furnace. The size of the channel 
should be ascertained, and also its proportion to the 
aggregate cross-sectional area of all hot-air pipes. 

The hot-air flues should next be examined, their 
size and course, as well as their length and grade, 
noted; and it should be remembered that horizontal 
hot-air pipes should not generally exceed twelve to 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 35 

fifteen feet in length. Since short lengths of horizontal 
pipes and vertical flues draw much better than long 
horizontal pipes to the first-floor registers, an even 
and nearly equal draught in all pipes should be estab- 
lished by means of valves or dampers, and by rightly 
proportioning the sizes of the various hot-air pipes and 
flues. Examine the position of the inlets for warm 
air in the room — whether located in the floor, in the 
wall near the bottom or near the ceiling, or at an 
intermediate height. The size and construction of the 
register boxes require attention; and wherever registers 
are placed in the floor, it is advisable to remove them, 
and to examine the interior of the hot-air pipe, which 
will usually be found to be far from clean. Hot-air 
flues opening in the floor are always objectionable, 
because much dirt and dust must of necessity fall into 
them. In all rooms heated by warm-air flues, look 
for and examine the outlets provided for removal of 
impure air; for no central heating-apparatus will work 
well unless both inlets as well as outlets are pro- 
vided. 

In the case of houses heated by low-pressure steam- 
heating apparatus, it is important to examine whether 
the heating is accomplished wholly or partly by direct 
radiation (that is, by having heating surfaces, pipe or 
box coils, placed in the rooms to be warmed); or by 
indirect radiation, in which case coils of pipe are placed 
at the cellar ceiling, as nearly as possible directly 
under the rooms to be warmed, and fresh aid led by 
cold-air boxes from the outside to such coils, where it 
is warmed to the requisite temperature. The latter is 
sometimes regulated by having a number of steam 
coils, into each of which steam may be turned, and 
which can be shut off in sections at pleasure by means 
of valves. From here the warmed air is delivered to 



36 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

the rooms by means of hot-air flues in all respects 
similar to those used for furnace-heating. 

Where radiators are placed in the rooms, steam-pipes 
must be carried to the upper floors, sometimes all over 
a house. The size and construction of the radiators, 
and of the pipes supplying them with steam, should 
in this case be examined; the coils should be free from 
dust; search ought to be made for leaky joints and 
valves, and particular attention paid to the question 
of fresh-air supply. If air is admitted from the out- 
side, and warmed at the radiators, which are then 
usually placed in the window recesses, the system is the 
so-called direct-indirect radiation; and the channel for 
fresh air should be examined, its size noted, and its 
opening to the outer air inspected to make sure that 
it may not draw its supply from impure sources. 

It is important, for sanitary reasons as well as for 
the sake of economy in the use of steam, to have all 
steam-pipes in the cellar properly covered with some 
good non-conducting material. This is, moreover, a 
very necessary precaution against fire in all cases where 
steam-pipes pass close to woodwork. 

The close and detailed inspection of the steam-boiler 
is very important; but it is a matter requiring skill, 
knowledge of the mechanical construction of the appa- 
ratus, and experience in the use and application of 
steam and the combustion of fuel, and it is recom- 
mended to call in the aid of an expert in boiler- 
construction and boiler-management. This inspector 
should ascertain, by inspection and hammer test, that 
the boiler is properly constructed, that it has no weak 
place, and that it is kept in a good condition, free from 
corrosion, from incrustations, sediment, and dirt or 
other defects. If necessary, the boiler should be tested 
by forcing in water under a heavy pressure. It should 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 37 

be noted if all joints and packings are tight; if the 
feeding-apparatus, if such is used, is in proper working 
order; if all trimmings and appendages are complete; 
especially if the gauge-cocks and glass gauges are 
working easily, and the steam-gauge and safety-valve 
are kept clean, and working regularly and easily. 
Examine all pipes and cocks with care, to ascertain 
that they are not in any way obstructed; examine also 
the draught-regulator, the fire-box, the grate and 
ash-pan, the smoke-flues and dampers, — all of which 
should be swept, or kept free from soot, slag, or ashes. 
Brass trimmings ought to be kept bright and polished. 

No cotton-waste or oily rags should be kept about 
the boiler, as they may cause fire by spontaneous com- 
bustion. The floor and walls around the boiler ought 
to be kept neat and clean, and free from standing 
water. Persons living in a house fitted up with a 
steam-heating boiler should remember, that, to prevent 
accidents or danger to property and life, it is safest 
and best to have a 'periodical inspection of it made, at 
least once a year, to ascertain if the boiler may be 
used with safety. Particular care should be taken 
with steam-heating boilers, if they are put out of use 
during the spring and summer, to prevent corrosion 
of the boiler or any of its parts. This may be accom- 
plished either by keeping the boiler filled with water, 
or, better still, by nearly filling it with water, then 
adding to it a few gallons of pure mineral oil so as to 
quite fill the boiler, and then drawing off the water, 
whereby all the interior surfaces of the boiler will come 
in contact with the oil. Thus oiled, the boiler should 
be kept perfectly dry and closed, until the fire is again 
started in the fall of the year. 

Similar hints and cautions might be given with regard 
to hot-water apparatus*, but inasmuch as this is not 



38 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

usually adopted in city houses of the average size, 
although possessing some advantages over a steam- 
heating apparatus, the mere mention of the apparatus 
must suffice. 

Inspection of the Gas-lighting Arrangements — The 
next subject of inquiry should be the means provided 
for lighting the house with illuminating-gas. This is 
conveyed to the building under pressure, by a main 
gas-pipe, and distributed throughout the house by a 
network of small wrought-iron service-pipes, put 
together with screw-joints and suitable malleable-iron 
fittings. To get at an idea of the distribution of sizes 
of gas-pipes in a finished house is generally utterly 
impossible, owing to the universal habit of mechanics 
of burying all gas-pipes in walls, in partitions, and 
between floor joists. Yet the illumination of the house 
will to a great extent depend upon a proper arrange- 
ment of the pipe system, pipes of too small calibre 
being objectionable, -and frequently choking up and 
causing the flow of gas to be perceptibly obstructed. 

All pipes should be run with a slight continuous fall 
towards the meter, to avoid anywhere in the system a 
depression which would accumulate water, and cause 
the trapping of the pipes. Wherever a gas-pipe passes 
from a warm room into one of much colder tempera- 
ture, it is a good practice to arrange a pocket with 
movable plug to enable the removal of water from 
condensation. As to the gas-meter, see if it is set 
perfectly level, and located in a cool place in the cellar; 
for changes of temperature cause a given quantity of 
gas to occupy a different space and hence affect the 
correct registering of the gas-meter. It is equally 
important to prevent the freezing up of the meter; as 
otherwise constant annoyances, and even serious 
trouble, may occur in winter-time. I may here remark, 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 39 

that a gas-meter, measuring the volume of gas burned 
during a given time, is not, in reality, a just measuring 
apparatus by which to regulate the total cost of the 
gas consumed; for, strictly, the price of gas should 
be fixed according to its specific weight, and, above 
all, according to its candle power, or better yet, accord- 
ing to its heating power. 

Quite frequently defects in the gas-piping, seams, 
flaws, or pin-holes in pipes, leaky joints, bad fittings, 
or defective gas-fixtures, exist in houses; and slight, 
and sometimes imperceptible, leakages, more com- 
monly than most people would imagine, either at 
burners or at joints, contribute a share to the constantly 
going on contamination of the air in city houses. A 
slight and scarcely perceptible escape of gas is apt to 
cause a peculiar smell, quite unlike the well-known, 
strong, and pungent odor of coal-gas. Illuminating- 
gas contains a number of hurtful elements, especially 
carbonic oxide, and this to a higher degree where the 
gas supplied is water-gas enriched with naphtha, and 
the inhaling of such air, polluted by slight but constant 
leakage, is very injurious to health. If larger quanti- 
ties of gas escape, and mix with the air in rooms, they 
bring with them the danger of explosions, not to men- 
tion the annoyance of exorbitant gas bills. When a 
decided smell of gas becomes apparent, or if a large 
leak is suspected anywhere, search should never be 
made for it with a lamp or candle, for this always 
invites the danger of a gas explosion. The first thing 
to do is to shut off the gas at the meter; then to open 
all windows, particularly the upper sash; and then to 
search for the leak. Gas-meters should never be 
inspected or examined after dark, by lighting a match 
or otherwise. 

Before entering upon occupancy of a house, it is 



40 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

well to have the gas-pipes and fixtures carefully tested. 
A very simple way of ascertaining if leakage of gas 
is going on is to make sure that no lights are burning, 
and to watch the small index-hand of the gas-meter 
for several succeeding hours. This can be readily 
done, even by laymen. Another method is to fix to 
a burner a water-gauge, a glass tube, with legs at least 
three inches long, bent in the shape of the letter U, 
half filled with water. The cock of the burner should 
be turned on, when the difference of water-level in 
both legs will indicate the pressure of gas in the pipes. 
The gas should then be turned off at the meter; and, 
if the water in the gauge now remains steady, the 
pipes and fittings are tight; but, should it slowly 
descend until it again stands level in both legs, there 
is a leak somewhere. Of course it is important to 
know that the main cock at the meter shuts perfectly 
tight, and this should be tested independently. 

The best test of the gas-piping where no fixtures are 
hung is by means of a gas-fitter's pump and a mercury- 
gauge. To locate a leak, sulphuric ether is sometimes 
used; but as the sense of smell is inferior to the sense 
of sight, in exactly locating a leakage, it is better to 
apply soapsuds to the joints, when a leak will be 
readily indicated by soap-bubbles. In order to do this 
in a finished house, one must, of course, first locate 
the leak, at least approximately, so as to avoid the 
tearing up of too many floor-boards, or the cutting of 
plaster, or removal of expensive wall-papers. 

Even with a perfectly tight system of gas-piping and 
gas-burners, the atmosphere is contaminated by the 
combustion of the gas. If this combustion be perfect, 
and the gas furnished perfectly purified, the products 
are only carbonic acid and water; and if, by ceiling 
ventilation and by the aid of the heat of the gas-flames, 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 41 

the removal of both is provided for, no evil results 
may be apprehended. But, for various reasons, the 
combustion of gas-flames is usually quite incomplete, 
and the gas is often but imperfectly purified, and 
hence injurious gases, compounds of sulphur and of 
ammonia, besides carbonic oxide, escape into the 
room. This explains why so many complaints are 
often made as to the disadvantages of gas-lighting — 
amongst them that the air becomes loaded with noxious 
vapors, injurious to the human constitution; and that 
gaslight causes damage to books, pictures, furniture; 
and that the heat produced is out of all proportion to 
the illumination. 

It should be borne in mind that the intensity of the 
light obtained depends not so much upon the quantity 
of gas consumed as upon the conditions under which 
it is burned. It is stated by good authorities, that, of 
all the gas passing a meter, from thirty to fifty per 
cent is not infrequently wasted by imperfect combus- 
tion. The chief causes of this waste are an excessive 
pressure at the burners, bad burners, and unsuitable 
arrangements of glass globes and fittings. 

In inspecting a house it should therefore be noted 
if it is located on high ground; and, if possible, the 
pressure of gas on the house side of the meter should 
be ascertained. The greatest amount of light from a 
given quantity of gas would be obtained if the flow 
of gas at the burner and the flow of air to the flame 
be slow, regular, steady, and uniform; the pressure 
at the burner being moderate, and not exceeding 
six-tenths of an inch of water-pressure. If, on the 
other hand, gas rushes from the burner, generally 
with a whizzing noise, under a high pressure, it mixes 
quickly with the air, and passes in an unconsumed 
state into the room; the light is unsteady and flick- 



42 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

ering; the flame jumps on account of unequal pressure; 
and the illumination is bad, because not all the carbon 
has time to become incandescent. The air-supply 
being insufficient, smoke is produced, and blackens 
ceilings or walls, and the air is contaminated. If a 
single flame is kept burning at night, the turning-off 
of a large number of flames in a district may suddenly 
increase the pressure at the burner so much that the 
flame jumps up very high, and may even set things on 
fire. 

Since the pressure of gas in the mains necessarily 
varies much at different times, and is almost always, in 
cities, in excess of what is required for economical and 
efficient illumination, it is advisable to regulate it by 
pressure governors or regulators, placed at the house 
side of the gas-meter. Even if no other results would 
be accomplished, the prevention of frequent breakage 
of glass globes and the saving of gas are important 
considerations. From a sanitary point of view, the 
better illumination, and the prevention of air-contam- 
ination from unconsumed gas passing through the 
burners, are of course more important. 

Next in importance to the regulation of the gas- 
pressure is the choice of burners of a suitable material, 
shape, and construction. The inspection should ascer- 
tain if the burners have metallic or lava tips; the 
former being objectionable, because they rapidly 
corrode, besides abstracting much heat from the flame, 
owing to metal being a good conductor. Lava tips, 
too, may become obstructed, and will thus cause a 
diminution of the illuminating power of the light. It 
should be ascertained what kind of burners are pro- 
vided, whether single-jet, fish-tail, bat-wing, or incan- 
descent burners. In the case of high flats, it may be 
advisable to use governor-burners in place of a governor 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 43 

at the meter in the cellar. Finally, the size and shape 
of the glass globes should be noted, for globes with 
narrow opening at the base do not admit sufficient air- 
at a low velocity to insure a steady flame and a good 
illumination. 

Inspection of the Ventilation of the House. — Not 
the least important subject of inquiry is the ventila- 
tion of the house. The air in habitations is deteriorated 

(1) by a decrease in the amount of oxygen, by the 
breathing process of persons, and by artificial lighting; 

(2) by an increase of carbonic acid and watery vapor; 

(3) by an increase of offensive particles, liberated by 
cutaneous perspiration, (4) by inorganic dust from 
outside and from inside, ashes from heating-apparatus, 
etc.; (5) by vegetable and animal organic and mineral 
floating impurities; (6) by carbonic oxide from cracks 
and leaky joints of the heating-apparatus. 

Constant admission of pure air, and removal of foul 
air, are important everywhere, but nowhere more so 
than in the bedrooms, bathrooms, water-closet, and 
slop-sink apartments , in the stair-case hall ; in pantries, 
larders, store-closets, where often a faint and musty 
odor may be detected, in the closet for soiled linen; 
in the tank-room; in the laundry, where vapors of 
steam and soapsuds, mixed with particles of organic 
filth from soiled linen, contaminate the air; in the 
kitchen, where odors from cooking and the excessive 
heat of the range often render existence intolerable; 
and in the cellar, for cellar air is liable to rise and to 
pervade the whole house. 

In questions of ventilation it is well to remember, 
that, to quote Charles Kingsley, — 

"Those who habitually take in fresh breath will 
probably grow up large, strong, cheerful, active, clear- 
headed, fit for their work. Those who habitually take 



44 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

in the breath which has been breathed out by them- 
selves, or any other living creature, will certainly grow 
up, if they grow up at all, small, weak, nervous, de- 
pressed, unfit for work, and tempted continually to 
resort to stimulants, and become drunkards." 

The unwholesomeness of house-air is not always 
indicated by offensive odors, since the deleterious ele- 
ments of air possess neither a very decided nor always 
an unpleasant odor. It is well known that air which 
may carry with it fatal germs of disease may be entirely 
devoid of smell. Fire-places in the living rooms and 
the principal bed-rooms form a great aid in house 
ventilation, removing a large part of the air fouled 
by respiration and perspiration; and therefore the 
throats of fire-places should always be kept entirely 
open. 

In inspecting a house it should be noted whether 
ceiling-ventilators are provided, which are desirable to 
remove the heated air contaminated by the combustion 
from gas-burners, as well as hot, foul air rising to the 
ceiling in case rooms are crowded with guests. Fresh 
air should be admitted in ample quantity during the 
cold months, in connection with the heating apparatus, 
either by means of cold-air chambers leading to the 
heating apparatus in the cellar, or by cold-air ducts 
leading to the warm-air chamber of the ventilating 
fire-place in the room, or to coils of hot water or steam- 
radiators in rooms. It is necessary to add a sufficient 
amount of moisture to air heated by furnaces, steam, 
or hot-water coils. 

It is of much importance to note if the pure air 
admitted from outdoors is adequately and thoroughly 
distributed in gentle currents without creating danger- 
ous draughts, and if it is properly diffused throughout 
the whole space of the apartments. Even with ample 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 45 

provision for air-supply and foul-air removal, it some- 
times happens that currents of pure air take a nearly- 
straight course directly to the foul-air outlets, without 
being diffused in the space to be ventilated. It is well, 
therefore, to pay attention, in examining the ventila- 
tion of a building, to the probable movement of air- 
currents in rooms. 

In the case of water-closet apartments, the provision 
for a well-drawing outlet-flue to remove gases is more 
important than a pure-air supply, which will readily 
flow in from halls or adjoining rooms. If necessary, 
recourse should be had to gas-burners arranged in 
outlet-flues. A kitchen must never be without a large 
ventilating-flue, and the cooking-range must have a 
suitable hood connected with it. 

A detailed examination of the sufficiency of a system 
of ventilation should include the measurement of the 
cubic space available for each person, and of the total 
volume of air supplied to a room per hour; also the 
measurement of the sizes and positions of the inlet 
and outlet flues and registers. Besides this, it is 
necessary to note the temperature in various parts 
and heights of each room, to measure the degree of 
humidity of the air, and the purity of the air, not 
merely by the senses, although the indications given 
thereby are also valuable, but also by chemical and 
microscopical analysis. Such an extended investiga- 
tion is, fortunately, seldom required in the case of 
private houses, but it is very important in the case of 
public buildings. The sense of smell affords a good 
indication of the amount of ventilation in a room, on 
entering it from out-doors; yet it cannot always be 
relied upon, and simple methods for determining the 1 
amount of carbonic-acid impurity are always prefer- 
able. Such tests are readily performed, and may be of 



46 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

service, inasmuch as the carbonic-acid impurity, while 
not in itself an indication of danger in the amounts 
found present in rooms, is a valuable indicator of the 
organic impurities present in the air fouled by respira- 
tion. 

A simple and handy apparatus for quickly making a 
qualitative test of the purity of air is the pocket appa- 
ratus designed by Professor Wolpert. It consists essen- 
tially of a glass test-tube with white bottom, and 
sighting-mark on the latter, and of an india-rubber 
bulb with glass tube attached, of a certain fixed capacity. 
The bulb is filled, by repeated squeezing, with air of the 
room; while the test-tube is filled, up to a certain 
index-mark, with clear lime-water. The glass tube of 
the rubber bulb is then inserted into the test-tube, and 
all the air squeezed out by a gentle pressure, and made 
to pass through the lime-water. This operation is 
repeated until a marked turbidity of the Time-water is 
apparent, and the sight-mark at the bottom of the test- 
tube disappears. The number of squeezes of the 
rubber bulb should be counted; and, by referring to a 
small printed table accompanying the instrument, the 
corresponding amount of carbonic-acid impurity in the 
air is readily ascertained. For instance, if fifty squeezes 
should be required, this would indicate the amount of 
carbonic acid to be 4 parts per 10,000 parts; in other 
words, the air would be about normal. If thirty 
squeezes are required, this corresponds to 6.6 parts of 
carbonic acid, or about the limit of allowable impurity 
in rooms. Twenty squeezes would indicate 10 parts 
carbonic acid per 10,000 volumes of air, and so on. 
The test is readily accomplished by anybody, and gives 
sufficiently accurate information to enable a person to 
judge of the character of the air in a room. 

Let no householder who values the health of his 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 47 

family underestimate the importance of house-ventila- 
tion. To the frequent question, "Why make all this 
fuss about ventilation? Our forefathers got on very 
well without it," Charles Kingsley, in his lecture, 
"The Two Breaths," answers:— 

"Our ancestors did nothing of the kind. Our an- 
cestors got on usually very ill in these matters; and 
when they got on well it was because they had good 
ventilation in spite of themselves. First, they got on 
very ill. To quote a few remarkable cases of longevity, 
or to tell that men were larger and stronger on the 
average in old times, is to yield to the old fallacy of 
fancying that savages were peculiarly healthy, because 
those who were seen were active and strong. The 
simple answer is, that the strong alone survived, while 
the majority died from the severity of training. Sav- 
ages do not increase in number, and our ancestors 
increased but very slowly for many centuries. I am 
not going to disgust my audience with statistics of 
disease; but knowing something, as I happen to do, 
of the social state and of the health of the Middle Ages, 
I have no hesitation in saying that the average of 
disease and death was greater than it is now. Epi- 
demics of many kinds— typhus, ague, plague, all 
diseases which were caused more or less by bad air — 
devastated this land and Europe in those days with a 
horrible intensity, to which even the choleras of our 
times are mild. The back streets, the hospitals, the 
jails, the barracks, the camps, — every place in which 
any large number of persons congregated, — -were so 
many nests of pestilence engendered by uncleanliness, 
which defiled alike the water which was drunk and the 
air which was breathed. And as a single fact, of 
which the tables of insurance companies assure us, the 
average of human life in England has increased twenty- 



48 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

five per cent since the reign of George L, owing simply 
to our more rational and cleanly habits of life. 

"But secondly, I said, that when our ancestors got 
on well they did so because they got ventilation in 
spite of themselves. Luckily for them, their houses 
were ill-built, their doors and windows would not shut. 
They had lattice-windowed houses too, to live in; one 
of which, as I can testify from long experience, is as 
thoroughly ventilating as living in a lantern with the 
glass broken out. It was because their houses were 
full of draughts, and still more, in the early Middle 
Ages, because they had no glass, and stopped out the 
air only by a shutter at night, that they sought for 
shelter rather than for fresh air, of which they some- 
times had too much; and, to escape the wind, built 
their houses in holes, such as that in which the old city 
of Winchester stands. Shelter, I believe, as much as 
the desire to be near fish in Lent, and to occupy the 
rich soil of the valleys, made the monks of old England 
choose the river-banks for the sites of their abbeys. 
They made a mistake therein, which, like most mistakes, 
did not go unpunished. These low situations, espe- 
cially while the forests were yet thick on the hills 
around, were the perennial haunts of fever and ague, 
produced by subtle vegetable poisons, carried in the 
carbonic acid given off by rotten vegetation. So 
there again they fell in with man's old enemy, bad air. 
Still, as long as the doors and windows did not shut, 
some free circulation of air remained. But now our 
doors and windows shut only too tight. We have 
plate glass instead of lattices; and we have replaced 
the draughty and smoky, but really wholesome, open 
chimney, with its wide corners and settles, by narrow 
registers and even by stoves. We have done all we 
can, in fact, to seal ourselves up hermetically from 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 49 

the outer air, and to breathe our own breaths over 
and over again; and we pay the penalty of it in a 
thousand ways unknown to our ancestors, through 
whose rooms all the winds of heaven whistled, and who 
were glad enough to shelter themselves from draughts 
in the sitting-room by the high screen round the fire, 
and in the sleeping-room by the thick curtains of the 
four-post bedstead, which is now rapidly disappearing 
before a higher civilization. We therefore absolutely 
require to make for ourselves the very ventilation 
which our ancestors tried to escape." 

If the air in a house is defiled by bad odors, the 
trouble is usually ascribed to the drains; but it some- 
times happens that such smells cannot be traced 
either to defective plumbing or to bad arrangement of 
the warm-air furnace, or to a leak in the gas-pipes. 
Decaying organic matters, particularly dead animals, 
either mice or rats hidden under floors, are at times 
found to be the cause of the trouble. Foul air is 
often found to make itself unpleasantly felt in places 
entirely remote from its source. It travels along rat- 
runs under cellar-floors, in the hollow spaces between 
floors and ceilings, behind wainscoting or paneling, 
along the air-spaces in hollow partitions, or in the 
hollow flues of furred brick walls. All such channels 
should be closed at each floor, to prevent not only 
the distribution of bad smells, but also to avoid a 
dangerous spreading of smoke and fire. Drip-pipes 
form another ready channel of communication between 
the remotest parts of the house. Speaking-tubes are 
likewise the cause of such trouble, and it is even said 
that the tubes enclosing bell-wires at times lead foul 
air from one floor to another. The search for the 
origin of such bad smells is often a puzzle, even to 
those experienced in such investigations. 



50 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Intimately connected with the subject of dwelling- 
house ventilation is the prevention of dirt and dust. 
Heavy flock-papers, hangings, portieres, curtains, and 
carpets collect dust and absorb unhealthy impurities 
from the air. But they belong rather to the furnish- 
ing of a house; and, while it is possible and advisable 
to pay some attention to a healthful decoration and 
furniture of houses, it is a subject which does not 
properly come under sanitary house-inspection. The 
latter will have to deal only with whatever stationary 
or fixed furniture a house for sale or to rent contains. 

It is not unusual to provide rooms with cupboards 
or wardrobes having sunken tops and moldings, on 
which a large amount of floating dust collects, and 
generally remains there for months, except so far 
as it is disturbed by draughts, whereby it is mixed 
with the atmosphere of the room, and helps to make 
it stuffy and unwholesome, or settles down upon the 
furniture of the room, and upon curtains, bedding, 
and carpets. There is a very simple and efficient way 
of preventing this by having all cupboards, wardrobes, 
or fixed bookcases, and buffets, carried up clear to the 
ceiling, and also quite down to the floor-line. This does 
not at all exclude a proper and artistical designing and 
construction of such fixed furniture. It is of great 
importance that some attention should be paid in 
every household to this matter. 

Inspection of the Arrangements insuring Safety 
Against Fire. — Having finished the inspection of the 
important subjects of plumbing, drainage, heating, 
lighting, and ventilation, there is one other question 
which requires consideration, and that is the safety of 
a house from and the precautions taken in a house 
against fire. 

As regards, first, the proper and safe construction 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 51 

of a house, it is generally a matter of great difficulty 
to ascertain definitely facts bearing upon this point. 
In a stone or brick house the hollow spaces usually 
left between the wall and the furring act as flues, which 
will rapidly carry the flames from one floor to another. 
This may be prevented by closing the flues at each 
floor with bricks and mortar by so-called "fire-stops;" 
and in an inspection this point should not be over- 
looked. Interior hollow partition-walls may be simi- 
larly protected. 

As far as possible, the construction of the chimneys 
should be inspected. Defective flues, cracks in the 
masonry of smoke-flues (allowing sparks to come in 
contact with the furring of chimneys), floor-joists 
built into the chimney, badly pargeted flues, or wood- 
work carried too near a flue, are often causes of fires 
in dwelling-houses. Note particularly whether the 
smoke-flue of the cooking-range has at least eight 
inches of brickwork. 

The heating-apparatus is a frequent cause of fires and 
hence it should be closely inspected, not merely as 
regards its sanitary and mechanical features, but also 
as regards its safe arrangement. Smoke-flues for fur- 
naces and steam-boilers should have at least a thick- 
ness of eight inches. It is best, however, to line them 
inside with round glazed earthen pipes. The hot-air 
flues and the smoke-pipe should never come into close 
contact with woodwork. See that there is at least, six 
inches of space between any floor-joists, beams, or 
partition-studs and a hot-air flue, or the top of a hot- 
air furnace or a steam-boiler; and see whether all 
woodwork in closer contact with hot-air flues or steam- 
pipes is well protected by a lining of bright tin. It is 
preferable to have the colcl-air box constructed of gal- 
vanized iron, to obviate all danger from fire in case the 



52 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

movement of air-currents should be reversed, passing 
from the register down to the furnace, and out at the 
cold-air inlet. Care is required in the proper carrying 
of stove-pipes across and through partitions. Inspect, 
if possible, the method used in carrying vertical hot- 
air flues in wooden partitions. Here, too, all wood- 
work ought to be lined and protected by metal, and 
kept at a distance of at least three inches from the 
flues. Note if wire-lathing has been used in such 
places, for this adds greatly to the security of a house 
against conflagration. Observe if hot-air flues, in 
passing through floors or stud partitions, are incased 
by a large pipe-collar, and if the register-boxes are 
suitably set. 

As to gas-fixtures, note if they are kept at a sufficient 
distance from all woodwork and from ceilings; and 
wherever bracket lights are used, see to it that they 
are at a safe distance from curtains, or any other 
combustible hangings or furniture. 



Herewith I present a form of questions prepared by 
me, of which I have often made use in the sanitary 
examination of city houses. 

Schedules for Sanitary Inspections of City Houses. 
Report No Date 



GENERAL NOTES. 

Name of owner tenant 

Address 

Location of house — N. S. E. W. side of St. or Ave. 

Number of stories 

Extension Number of stories. 

Size of lot sq. f t 

Area of lot sq. ft 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 53 

Size of house : front ft. 

Extension 

depth ft. 

Number of floors 

Area covered by house •- 

Ratio of unoccupied space on lot 

Material — stone, brick, frame 

Erected about years ago. 

Architect Builder 

Valuation of house 

Altered or overhauled in 

r private residence 

Occupied as j boarding-house 

L tenement-house 

Plumbing done by Cost $ 

Number of persons in house Number of families 

Has infectious disease occurred in house? 

SURROUNDINGS 

Site nature of soil, sand gravel 

clay loam rock made ground 

Elevation above mean sea-level 

Old watercourses? 

Site of former pond or swamp? 

Sewered by connection with sewer in St. (Avenue) 

Size and material of street sewer depth 

Street or avenue, how wide? What kind of pavement? 

Direction of street Grade of street? 

Condition of pavement? 

Size of yard width depth 

Is yard paved? 

Is yard drained? How many cesspools? 

How are cesspools connected? . . 

Where are leaders? in front in rear 

How trapped? 

Condition of yard? 

Area and court drains? 

Condition of street and gutters? . . 

Are there high buildings adjoining or opposite (rear or front)? 

Shade trees on street? 

Is locality generally considered healthful? 



54 • GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



Are there any yard closets? 

What kind? 

Any adjoining nuisance? . . . 
Any catch-basins? 



WATER-SUPPLY 



Water supplied from 

Size of tap or connection at main 

Size of service-pipe at front cellar wall 

Is there a shut-off valve? 

Is there a drip-cock to empty all house pipes? 

Is there a water-meter? 

Are pipes below cellar floor? or along cellar ceiling? 

Are pipes well supported, graded, and aligned? 

Have pipes sagged? 

Are water-pipes exposed to freezing? 

Material of service-pipe? 

Material of supply-pipes in house? 

Is there a house-pump in cellar? 

What kind? 

Is there a house-tank? 

Location? 

Size? Capacity? 

Material? 

Safe under tank? 

How is tank supported? 

Overflow-pipe runs where to? Size 

Emptying-pipe runs where to? Size 

Condition of tank? 

How often cleaned? 

Is there a general house filter? . 

What kind? Size? 

Capacity? 

How is waste-pipe for filter run? 

Is there a rain-water cistern? 

How supplied? 

Location? 

Material? 

Is it covered? 

Where is rain-water used ? 

Is water filtered? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 55 



Is there a well on premises? 

Location Depth 

Material 

Kind of well 

Has water been analyzed? 

Result of analysis of well-water? 



CELLAR 

General condition as to cleanliness? 

Does cellar extend under entire house? 

Height of cellar from floor to ceiling? 

How far below sidewalk is ceiling? 

Is cellar dry? damp? wet? 

Is cellar floor concreted? cemented? 

Asphalted? water-proofed? 

Is floor drained? 

Where is cellar cesspool located? 

Is it efficiently trapped? 

Is there a faucet to keep trap sealed? 

Are there underground drains under floor? 

What kind? tile stone brick 

Size? How connected with sewer? 

Is connection trapped? x\re means provided for main- 
taining seal in trap? 

By a leader connection? 

How is cellar ventilated? 

How is cellar lighted? Sunlight? 

Are cellar windows accessible? 

How are walls finished?. . .How often are they kalsomined?. . . 

How is cellar ceiling finished? 

Is it lathed and plastered? or fire-proofed? 

Is there a plan of the system of plumbing of the cellar drains, 

etc.? 

Is the main house sewer below the cellar floor? 

If so, is it accessible by cleanouts? 

Size? material? joints? 

Is the main house sewer above the cellar floor? 

If so, how supported? 

Where does it run? 

Size? material? joints? . . 

How are the cleanouts closed? 



56 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Is there a main house-trap? 

Size? location? cleanouts? 

Manhole over same? 

Has the trap a fresh-air inlet? 

Where does it terminate? 

What size? Is it free and clean or obstructed? 

What protection against obstruction? 

Note condition of main sewer by opening some cleanout 

How is the flow of sewage? free?. . . .obstructed? . . 

Is there a cellar water-closet? 

Location? Kind of apparatus? 

How lighted? How ventilated? 

Condition? How flushed? 

Is it encased in woodwork? 

Are there other fixtures? 

Sink location size material 

How trapped? Used for what purpose? 

Condition? 

How many soil-pipes? Waste-pipes? 

Leader connections? 

Are connections T or Y connections? 

Does the soil-pipe take roof-water? 

House filter? 

Hot-water tank? hot-water heater? 

Heating-apparatus in cellar? furnace 

Hot-water heater steam-boiler, direct or indirect system 

What kind? Has the furnace a cold-air box? ........ 

Material of cold-air box? Joints? 

Size? Opens where? Location of conduit . - 

above or below cellar floor? . . 

How far away from area cesspool? 

Is cold-air inlet protected by wire netting? 

How high above grade is it carried? 

Condition of cold-air box or conduit? 

Has furnace evaporating-pan? 

Has it water-supply? 

Condition of furnace? make size 

Is iron pot cracked? 

Is there a gas-supply? 

Size of gas service? Material 

Size of meter? Location 

Is meter exposed to freezing? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 57 

Are there separate cellar gas-mains for lighting and for heating 

or cooking? 

Are gas-pipes graded to meter? 

Is any gas leak noticeable? 

Are there signs of dampness in cellar? 

Are foundation walls dry? 

Is there a damp-proof course? 

Are there any rat burrows? 

Are there any openings into house sewer? 

Do safe waste-pipes stop at cellar ceiling? 

Do they run to cellar sink? 

Are they protected with flap-valves? 

Refrigerator waste-pipe discharges where? 

At cellar sink? 

Is it trapped? Has it a flap-valve? size? ........ 

Cleanouts? Provisions for flushing? 

Are leader traps exposed in cellar? 

Are area, court or yard drain-traps exposed in cellar? 

General remarks about cellar 

Are there any ventilation flues? 

BASEMENT 

Is there an area around the basement? 

Kitchen, on what side of house? 

Kitchen range, what kind and make? 

Open or brickset? 

Is there a hood over range? 

Ventilating register? 

Is water-back iron or brass? 

Box or pipe coil? 

Has range a household garbage carbonator or cremator? 

Kitchen sink, location? 

Material? Size? 

Drain-board 

Grease-trap? Strainer? 

Size of water-pipe? Trap? Is it vented? 

Faucets? .Kitchen slop-sink? Kitchen boiler? 

Location? size? material? 

Emptying-pipe for boiler runs where to? 

Is boiler of sufficient size? 

Does it become overheated? 



58 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



Laundry, what side of house? 

Laundry tubs, number of? material?. . . . 

Covers? . . , 

Waste-pipe, size How trapped? 

material? 

How many traps? Is trap vented? 

Laundry boiler? material? size? . . 

Cross-connections? 

Laundry heater, style and make? 

Has it water back? 

Other sinks? 

Other plumbing fixtures? 

Servants' water-closet Location 

Kind of apparatus . 

Refrigerator, is it stationary or movable? 

Does it drip into pan? 

Is there a lead or marble safe with strainer? 

Size of waste-pipe? Where does it discharge? 

Is it disconnected from soil- or drain-pipe? 

Garbage-can, where kept? 

Ashes, how and where kept? 

Are ashes and garbage kept separately? 

Material? cover? condition? .... 

How often is garbage removed? 



GROUND OR FIRST FLOOR 

Toilet-room Location 

Size of room? . , How lighted? 

How ventilated? 

Floor Walls 

Number of fixtures? 

Water-closet, what kind? 

Flush? Is closet noiseless? 

Open or enclosed? 

Marble or tile platform? 

Ventilated how? Is there any disinfecting apparatus?. 

Urinal, what kind? 

How flushed? 

How trapped? 

Open or enclosed? 

Ventilated how? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 59 

Wash-basin, what material? 

What make and style of bowl? 

Overflow? Waste? Chain and plug? 

Waste-valve? 

Hot and cold water? 

What size waste-pipe? material? 

How trapped? Is trap vented or a non-siphoning 

trap? 

Open or enclosed? 

Butler's pantry, location of 

Sinks, number of 

Material Size? 

How trapped? Size of waste-pipe 

What kind of faucet? 

Plate-warmer how heated? 

Pantry refrigerator, location of? size? how drained? 

Pantry sink filter, what kind? 

Conservatory? 

Fountain ? 

Other fixtures? 

General Remarks : 

SECOND FLOOR 

Bath-rooms, how many? How many bedroom baths? . . 

How many hall bath-rooms? 

Location, in centre of house? 

in rear hallrooms? 

in extensions? 

Are water-closet compartments separate from bathrooms?. . . . 

Bath-room No. 1: How lighted? How ventilated?. . . .How 

heated? 

Floor? 

Walls? 

Size? 

Number of fixtures? 

Bath-room No. 2: How lighted? How ventilated? . . . How 

heated? 

Floor? 

Walls? 

Size 

Number of fixtures? 



60 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Bath-room No. 3: How lighted? How ventilated?. . . .How 

heated? 

Floor? 

Walls? 

Size? 

Number of fixtures? 

Bath-room No. 4: How lighted? . . . .How ventilated? . . . .How 

heated? 

Floor? 

Walls? 

Size? 

Number of fixtures? , 

Water-closets, kind and make? 

How flushed? Size of flush-pipe? 

Flushing-cistern?. . . .size?. . . .material?. . . .location? 

Marble floor platforms? 

Safe waste? 

Open or enclosed? 

Open or framed seat? Lid? 

Bidet attachment? 

Is there a disinfecting attachment? 

Bathtubs, kind and make? 

Material? Shape? Set on legs? Set in floor? 

Roll rim? Wooden rim? 

How does its waste run? size? material? ...... 

How is waste trapped? Is there a cleanout 

Style of faucets? 

Top or bottom (bell) supply? 

Shower attachment? Hand spray? 

Marble platform? Wooden floor? ..... 

Linoleum? Safe waste? 

Wash-basins, style and make? 

Marble slab? size? thickness? 

Glazed porcelain slab? 

How supported? • 

What style bowl? size? 

What style waste? 

Waste-pipe, material? size? 

How trapped? 

What style faucets? Safe waste? 

General Remarks : 

Floor? Wall? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 61 



Bidet? Floor? 

Hip or Sitz bath? 

Shower-bath? 

Shower- and needle-bath? 

Other fixtures on this floor? 

Housemaid's slop-sink? location? kind? . 

Has it flushing-cistern? size? material?. 

Size of flush-pipe? 

Size of trap? How vented? 

Marble floor slab? 

General conditions? 

Ventilation of compartment? 

Bedroom wash-basins, how many? 

Location? Condition? Trapping? . . . 

Separate waste lines? 

Lead or marble safes? Faucets? .... 



THIRD FLOOR 

Bath-rooms, how many? How many bedroom baths? 

How many hall baths? 

Location, in centre of house? 

in rear hallroom 

in extension? 

(Same schedule as for second floor.) 

FOURTH FLOOR OR ATTIC 



Bath-rooms, how many? 

Servants' bath-room 

(Same schedule as for second floor.) 

Housemaid's slop-sinks 

(Same as for second floor.) 

House tank, location of how supported? 

Material? size? 

Safe under? Waste runs where? 

Tank overflow-pipe runs where? size? 

Tank emptying-pipe runs where? size 

Cover? Ventilation? 

How supplied? .... By pumping? By filling at night? . 

Automatic float attachment? 

Is there a scuttle over tank? 



62 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



Kind of roof covering? Tin? Copper? Shingle?. 

Slate? Tar and gravel? 

Slopes whereto? 

Is there a parapet wall? 

Is roof tight? : 

Gutter? Leaders? How many? 

Protected by strainers? Inside leaders? 

Outside leaders? 

Ventilating skylights, how many? 

Where located? 

Material? 

Size? 

Number of plumbing pipes on roof? 

Sizes? Wire baskets? Return bends? . , 

Vent caps? Open outlets? 

How high are pipes carried? 

Location of pipes? 

Do they terminate near ventilating skylights? 

Near flues? 

Near water-tank? 

Roof-tanks? Number? 

Location? How supported? 

Material? size? 

Overflow-pipes, runs where? size? 

Emptying-pipe? 

Are pipes at tank frost-proofed? 



Summary of Number and Kind of Plumbing Fixtures in House 

Water-closets Nursery sink 

Urinals Other sinks 

Bidets Wash-basins 

Slop-sinks Bathtubs 

Kitchen sink Special baths 

Pantry sink Tanks 

Cellar sink Boilers 

Housemaid's sink Pumps 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 63 



TEST OF PLUMBING 

What test applied? Smoke test? Peppermint test? 

Combined test? Where from? 

Result of test? 

Leaks, location of 

Principal sanitary defects found 



SUMMARY OF SANITARY CONDITION OF HOUSE 

Sanitary condition — excellent 

good 

fair 

not good 

bad 

very bad 
Remarks about smells? 



SUMMARY OF NOTES TAKEN AT INSPECTION 

House sewer: Size? 

Material? 

Joints? 

Trapping? 

Location. . . .manholes and cleanouts. . . .fall .... 

Fresh-air inlet: Size? 

Position, relative to windows or cold-air boxes 

to heating-apparatus? . 

Branch drain-pipes: Sizes? 

Material? 

Joints? 

How laid? 

Rain-water drains? 

Leaders: Number outside leaders? 

" inside leaders? 

trapping? 

Soil-pipes: Number 

Material? < 

Location? 

Trapped at foot? 

Ventilated at top? 

Position of mouth on roof in reference to windows, 

chimneys, skylight flues; 

joints, condition of? 



64 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Waste-pipes : Number? 

Material? Location? 

Trapped at foot? 

Ventilated at top? Enlarged? 

Position of mouth on roof in reference to windows, 

chimneys, skylight flues? 

Joints, condition of? 

Vent-pipes : Number , 

Material? 

Location? 

Trapped at foot? 

Ventilated at top? Enlarged? 

Position of mouth on roof in reference to windows, 

chimneys, skylight flues? 

Joints, condition of? 

Water-closets: Type and make? 

Flush? 

Condition? 

Discharges? 

Separate cistern? 

Overflow of cistern? 

Lead safe? Marble platform? 

Urinals: Shape, type, and make? 

How flushed? 

How trapped? 

How discharged waste size? 

Position? 

Condition? 

Slophoppers: Type and make? 

Flush? 

Condition? 

Discharge? 

Separate cisterns? 

Overflow of cistern? 

Lead safe? Marble platform? 

Lavatories: Type and make of lavatory? 

Material? Style of waste? 

How trapped? 

How is overflow trapped? 

Is overflow accessible for cleaning? 

Size of waste and trap? 

Condition? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 65 

Baths: Same as lavatories. 
Sinks: Same as lavatories. 
Water-supply: Street main? 

Well? 

Cistern and material Position? 

Covered? Overflow? 

Filter? Type? size? 

Gas-supply: Condition? Size of gas-service? 

Meter? size? location? 

Ventilation of rooms with plumbing 

Ventilation of water-closet apartments 

Result of tests applied 

Result of sanitary inspection - 



Additional Questions for Schedule of House Inspections 

(Applicable to both City and Country Houses.) 

structural details 

What are the chief materials used in the construction of the 

house? 

How are the floors finished? 

Single or double wooden boards?. . .Hardwood floor or parquet? 

Tiling? Oil-painted? Covered with carpets?. . . 

Covered with loose rugs? Linoleum floor-covering? . . 

Rubber tile floor? 

How are the walls finished? 

Papered? Oil-painted? Tiled? 

Wood wainscoting? Marble wainscot? 

Are there any dust-catching projections, cornices, picture 

rails? 

Are there hangings and draperies? 

Inside blinds or outside shutters? 

How many bedrooms? 

What is their size? their height? 

How many outside windows do they have? 

How are the bedrooms ventilated? 

How are floors of bedrooms finished? 

Are the dress-closets ventilated? 

How are pantries and store-rooms ventilated? 

What is the floor in the kitchen? 

Is staircase hall ventilated? How? 



66 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Is it well lighted? 

Are there any basement bedrooms? 

Are there inside bedrooms with only a skylight for ventilation? . 



SAFETY FROM FIRE 

Is the house safely constructed as regards danger from fire? .... 

Are there any fire-stops? 

Are there any defective flues? 

Are smoke-flues lined with fire-brick? 

Is the smoke-flue kept sufficiently away from woodwork? 

Is the cold-air box of heating apparatus of iron? 

Are gas-brackets kept away from windows, doors, and curtains? 

Do all chimney-flues draw well? 

Is the roof ladder kept unobstructed? 

WARMING 

How is the house warmed? 

By stoves? 

By fireplace heaters? 

By furnaces? 

By direct steam heat? 

By direct hot-water radiation? 

By indirect steam-heating? 

By indirect hot-water heating? 

By combination systems? 

Are there fireplaces in the principal rooms? 

Are these arranged for coal, wood, or gas fires? 

Is there an efficient vent-flue? 

Are the fireplaces so-called ventilating fireplaces? 

Is the furnace portable or brick set? 

What make of furnace? 

Size of furnace? 

Size of firepot? 

Is firepot lined with fire-brick? 

Are the joints of the furnace air-tight? 

What is the size of the furnace smoke-pipe? 

Is there a damper in the smoke-pipe? 

Is an automatic draft-regulator used? 

Is there a water-evaporating pan for furnace? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 67 



What is the size of the cold-air box? 

What is material of cold-air box? 

Is it above or below the floor? .... 

Where does the cold- air box terminate? 

How is it finished? 

Is the air-supply washed or filtered? 

Where are the warm-air registers placed in rooms? 

In walls? In floors? 

Are the register boxes and hot-air pipes kept clean? . . . 

Are they ever disinfected? 

Size and make of steam or hot-water boiler? 

Is the boiler high or low pressure? 

Is the steam-boiler examined and tested annually? .... 

Is it in good condition? 

Is it free from corrosion or sediment? : 

Are the gauge cocks and glass gauges in working order? 

Is there a draught regulator? 



GAS-LIGHTING 

What is the size of the gas-service? 

What is the size or capacity of the gas-meter? 

Where is the gas-meter located? 

Is it exposed to freezing? 

Are the gas-pipes run with fall to the gas-meter? 

What is the material for the house gas-pipes? 

Are there any gas leaks noticeable in the cellar or elsewhere?. . . 

Is there a gas-pressure regulator? 

Is the gas-piping tight as per indications of the small index- 
hand of the meter? 

Is gas used for cooking? 

Is gas used for heating the water? 

What kind of apparatus is used? 

Is gas used for heating? 

In what kind of appliance? 

Is there an excessive gas pressure at the burners? 

What kind of gas-burners are used? 

Fish-tail? 

Batwing? 

Argand? 

Incandescent? 

Are all gas-cocks provided with well-fastened pin-stops? 



68 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



VENTILATION 

Is there a supply of fresh air to every part of the house? 

How are the bedrooms ventilated? 

How are the bath-rooms ventilated? 

How are closets ventilated? 

How is the staircase ventilated? 

Is the kitchen well ventilated? 

Are pantry and laundry ventilated? 

Are there any bad odors? any musty smells 

Are there any outlets for foul air in living rooms? 

If so, where are they placed? 

Are there any ceiling ventilators? 

What is the average temperature at which rooms are kept in 

winter? 

Are there cooking odors in any part of the house other than in 
the kitchen? 



GARBAGE AND ASHES 

Are garbage and ashes kept in separate receptacles? 

How often are they removed? 

Are the receptacles covered? Are the covers metallic? . 

Are the receptacles water-tight? 



See also "The Sanitary Survey of a House." By Win. K. 
Newton, M.D., in Vol. X (1885) of the Reports of Americar 
Public Health Association. 

The schedule given above is a very complete one for 
the inspection of the sanitary condition of a single 
house. In many cases, however, the object of the 
sanitary inspection is a broader one, embracing an 
entire block of houses, or even an entire city district, 
as would be the case, for instance, in house surveys 
made when an epidemic threatens (see "Sanitary 
Surveys of Cities"). In such cases a more compact 
and more condensed schedule of questions is preferable. 

The following directions are taken from an excellent 
work on "Sanitary House Inspection," by Jensen: 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 69 

"After a preliminary inspection of the house and 
its surroundings begin the inspection proper in the 
cellar. 

"In cellar, note the following matters: — Main drain, 
intercepting trap — size, water-seal, handholes. Mate- 
rial of cellar floor: Concrete, cement, asphalt, non- 
porous slabs of stone, or tiles in cement. 

"In upper floors examine water-closets, baths, basins, 
sinks. Note type and make, condition, mode of setting, 
trapping, waste, and vent connections. Test flush of 
closets and slop-hoppers. Note type of flushing cis- 
terns, whether valve, siphon, automatic; note lining of 
cisterns. Examine the floor under the closets. Casing 
or open? Safe-tray? Safe waste-pipe? 

"Examine overflows of basins and bath-tubs; also 
waste-pipes. 

"Note kind and size of traps used. 

"Look into water cisterns or house-tanks; are they 
protected against heat or frost? Is there a cover to 
keep out the dirt or dust? Vermin? Where does the 
overflow go to? 

"Examine for possible sources of pollution of the 
drinking-water? 

"Take sample of the water for analysis. Examine 
house-filters, if any. 

"Examine for defective gas-piping and fittings. Test 
gas piping. 

"Expose and open up all outside drains; trace their 
course. Test outside drains by the smoke test. Ex- 
amine the intercepting trap. 

"Note construction of drains, size, material, condi- 
tion, arrangement, fall, joints. Examine all junctions 
and connections of soil and waste-pipes. Examine 
joints near trees. Inspect outside grease traps. Look 
for rain-water cistern; note size, capacity, position, con- 



70 GUIDE TO. SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

struction, overflow; rain-water pipes. Are they used 
as drain- ventilators? 

"Soil, waste, and vent-pipes: Note size, material, 
joints, and supports. Look for fresh-air inlet to house- 
trap. 

" Examine sewer outlet: In city houses to street 
sewer connection; in country houses to cesspool, or 
sewage disposal works, or to sewage field. 

" Examine privies and ash-pits; note distance from 
house and construction. 

"Inspect the water-supply of house: If from well, 
look for possible source of pollution. See if shallow, 
deep, dug, driven or drilled well. 

"Testing. — After the inspection comes the testing of 
the drainage system. If the inspection has shown that 
there are serious defects, testing is not really necessary. 
If, on the other hand, the inspection is satisfactory, then 
apply the smoke test. No water should be discharged 
during the test, as this would condense the smoke. It 
also retards the test. In testing, do not close the open- 
ings of roof-pipes until after the smoke has been seen 
to issue from the mouth of the pipes. Apply the test 
preferably outside of the house; close all windows and 
doors. Note all results of the smoke test, the positive 
as well as the negative. Apply the hydrostatic test or 
use the olfactory test, or else a pneumatic test. 

"Notes of Inspection and Tests. — All notes on the test 
and inspection should be brief, but complete, clear, and 
intelligible. The notes should form an aid to the 
memory. Work systematically and uniformly in the 
inspection, so as not to overlook a single item. Make 
notes about each fixture as complete as possible. Make, 
if possible, a sketch plan of the house and the drains." 

The following is a brief schedule for inspections 
devised by a British architect, Mr. Fletcher. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 71 

1. Nature of site and soil 

2. Description of house and aspect : points of compass 

Number of stories Number of rooms 

Nature of adjoining properties 

3. Nature of materials used 

Damp-proof course? 

Walls damp? 

Floors, dry rot? 

Roof, roof covering? 

4. Means of heating and ventilation 

Window area in proportion to floor space? 

Proximity of high buildings? 

5. Water-supply 

Source? 

Supply constant or intermittent? 

Character of pipes? 

Means of storage? Material of tank? 

Filters? 

6. Sewerage and drainage 

Course of drains to be traced? 

Sizes? Intercepting trap? 

Number of drain-pipe lines? 

Joints, how made? 

Means of access? 

Drain tests: olfactory test; smoke test; hydrostatic test; 
mirror test; pneumatic test 

7. Plumbing and fittings 

Fixtures, what kind and style? 

How trapped? 

8. Lighting 

Gas escapes? 

9. Method of disposal of refuse? 

How often collected? how stored?. . . .where? 

10. Alterations and repairs 

The following short schedule for notes on sanitary 
house inspections is taken from Stockman, Sanitary 
Inspection : 

Date House inspected Owner 

Address Occupier 



72 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Water-supply Cistern Upper water-closet 

Lower water-closet Drain and soil-pipe 

Drain ventilation Dust bin Stack-pipes. . 

Bath and lavatory wastes Area around 

house General condition of premises 

Cleanliness Repairs Dampness Over- 
crowding 

Remarks : 

State of walls and ceilings Dampness Roof 

Gutters Leaders Ventilation Light 

Drainage Water-closets Earth- 
closet privies 

Drinking-water cisterns 

Back yard Dust bin 

State of repair 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 73 



Inspection of Apartment-houses 

Within the last twenty-five years a new class of 
buildings has sprung up in some of our largest cities, 
in New York City perhaps more than anywhere else, 
chiefly owing to the increased value of real estate in 
many parts of the city. These buildings are planned 
and built so that a larger number of families occupies 
the different floors of the same house. While such 
so-called "French flats" or apartment-houses, cannot 
well be considered as "homes" in the true meaning of 
the word, yet they are often chosen by many in prefer- 
ence to houses; indeed, many people of small means, 
the upper forty thousand — to borrow an expression 
from Mrs. H. M. Plunkett's "Household Sanitation" — 
are from sheer necessity, owing to the high rates of 
house-rent, obliged in the largest cities to live in them, 
if they desire to remain at all in the city. 

It is difficult to say any words of praise about them 
from a health point of view. Even the best of such 
structures, in the writer's opinion, are but poor apolo- 
gies for a home. They are often overcrowded, generally 
ill- ventilated, and have little of the privacy which even 
the smallest rural cottage affords. The light and air 
shafts, the staircase halls, the dumb-waiters, but espe- 
cially the waste-pipes, unless of a superior character 
of workmanship, would seem to offer increased dangers 
to health, and to afford ready channels for the spread 
of zymotic diseases. 

In view of the possibility of an outbreak of fire, it is 
particularly dangerous to live on the uppermost floors, 
which are not easily reached by the streams of fire- 
engines. Add to this the well-known fact, that of all 
the apartment-houses advertised and rented as "fire- 



74 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

proof/' but very few structures are actually built with 
any regard towards safety, and so as to confine a 
conflagration to the apartment in which it originates; 
that, on the contrary, the ventilating shafts, staircase, 
elevator and dumbwaiter shafts, form the readiest 
means of spreading a fire with rapidity from the base- 
ment to the roof; while the not infrequent, but much 
to be condemned, construction of a stairway surround- 
ing the elevator, and inclosed in the same shaft with 
it, entirely cuts off the principal means of escape, by 
smoke, even when the flames do not reach the shaft. 

There are other reasons, however, why flats, and in 
particular the tall structures having more than five 
stories, are objectionable. They exclude to a great 
extent light and air from the streets below and from 
the adjacent houses. The interior of city houses, 
already dark in many cases, owing to the inconvenient 
subdivision of the city lots, is rendered still more gloomy 
and unhealthy by these lofty structures; and on the 
other hand, the street is kept continually damp, and 
deprived of the greatest means of purification — sun- 
light and pure-air currents. There is also danger to 
life, as well as to the structures of adjacent property, 
from the falling of high walls in case of a fire. Hence, a 
due regard for the equal rights of property-holders -calls 
for a decided condemnation of an unlimited height of 
apartment-houses. 

But, even if apartment-houses are properly limited 
to a height equal to about the width of the street, the 
system as a whole ought to be condemned, as being 
opposed to all domestic interests; as endangering, in 
many cases, the domestic peace and happiness; as 
robbing the sense and feeling of privacy in a house; as 
rendering the education of children more difficult, and 
as weakening, more or less, the feeling of domestic 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 75 

comfort and the family ties. Rooms in flats are seldom 
arranged with any regard to privacy for the members 
of a household, nor so that the noise of one tenant 
may not seriously inconvenience and disturb the peace 
of mind of his more quiet neighbors. Aside from such 
moral and social dangers, there are dangers to health 
which ought not to be disregarded. It is quite obvious, 
and needs scarcely a further explanation, that, in a 
building containing many people crowded together upon 
a small area, the air is more easily befouled than in 
houses occupied by only a single household. In flats, 
one family must sometimes undergo discomforts, or 
even sufferings, owing to the unsanitary condition of 
the rooms of other people in the building. Ventilation 
is most imperfect or entirely lacking, and tainted air 
readily passes from one floor to an adjoining or an 
upper floor. In case of a sudden outbreak of typhoid 
fever, cholera, scarlet fever, diphtheria, or measles, iso- 
lation is quite difficult; and the disease is much more 
easily spread from one person to another, or from one 
household to another, particularly if carelessness or 
negligence prevails. 

Our remarks refer particularly to American apart- 
ments, for, although flats are also common in Euro- 
pean cities, they are never to be found there with dark 
and unhealthy bedrooms, the back windows always 
being located around a large court or even garden, with 
ornamental shrubbery, and possibly a decorative 
fountain. 

In the sanitary inspection of apartment-houses, all 
the hints given with regard to city houses should be 
borne in mind and observed, as well as much of what 
will be said in the following about light and ventilation 
shafts in connection with tenement-houses. 



76 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Inspection of Tenement Houses 

From the apartment-house to the tenement-house it 
is but a gradual step, in fact, the building law makes 
no distinction between the one and the other. Although 
what is true of the former holds good to even a greater 
extent of the latter, yet tenement-houses constitute, 
and will continue to do so, for many workingmen the 
only places in cities which they can choose to live in — 
chiefly because of the necessity of living near their 
factories or working places. While I do not propose 
to speak at length about the necessity of tenement- 
house inspection, and improvement of the construction 
and condition of such structures, a few hints on the 
subject will not be out of place. 

The inquiry should embrace the following main 
points, viz., general construction, light and air, floor 
and cubic space, general cleanliness, freedom from 
dampness, drainage, condition of cellars, garbage 
removal, water-supply, heating and ventilation, and 
personal safety. 

See whether the tenement is single or double; note 
the number of floors, and number of families on each 
floor, also the number of people constituting each 
family. Ascertain, if possible, when the building was 
erected, and look at the general appearance of the 
house-front; also note the kind of materials used in 
construction. Measure the width and depth of the 
main building, as well as the size of the lot; and note 
the percentage of the lot covered, also the distance 
from rear buildings. 

Note whether the basement rooms are occupied as 
living or sleeping rooms, whether any animals are kept 
on the premises, and whether any trade or business 
is carried on in the rooms. If this is the case, it is 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 77 

proper to inquire carefully into the kind of manufactur- 
ing process carried on, into the raw materials used, and 
into the inoffensiveness of the products manufactured. 
Examine with care the condition of the cellar, especially 
as regards dampness, drainage, condition of walls, light, 
air, and what use is made of the cellar. Look also for 
water-closets in the cellar. 

In going up-stairs, observe the state of cleanliness of 
entries, passages, stairs, and halls; and see if they are 
sufficiently lighted in daytime, and how they are lighted 
at night, and what means, if any, are provided for 
ventilating the halls. Examine particularly the means 
for lighting and ventilating all inside rooms. Measure 
the dimensions of each room; note its cubic contents, 
its clear height, and the amount of window surface, 
especially of bedrooms. Measure the sizes and areas 
of all light and air shafts, and see if indoor water- 
closets have special shafts carried to the roof, which 
ought not to be used to ventilate any living rooms. 
See if all these air-shafts have proper communication 
with the outer air at the top as well as at the 
bottom. 

Examine the roof as to construction and material, 
and see if it is kept in good repair, and gutters and 
leaders in proper condition, and unobstructed. Note 
also the appearance of the chimney-tops above the roof; 
and observe if all soil and waste-pipes are carried at 
least four inches in diameter well above the roof, 
preferably to such a height that mischievous persons 
cannot cause their obstruction. Notice also whether 
the outlets are large and free, or whether they 
have the objectionable return-bend, or a ventilating- 
cap. 

Observe, next, if the tenement has properly con- 
structed fire-escapes; if the stairs are well constructed, 



78 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

and provided with strong railings; and if the roof can 
be conveniently reached. Examine the provisions 
made for an ample supply of water on each floor. 
Note the condition of faucets, pumps, hydrants, and 
fixtures. Where water does not rise to the upper 
floors in day time, see if a tank and force-pump are 
duly provided and duly operated. Observe the con- 
struction, material, and condition of the tank, and 
look to the disposal of its overflow-pipe. 

Examine all the plumbing carefully and thoroughly; 
above all, the construction and condition of the water- 
closets, the efficient trapping of the sinks and wash- 
tubs, in the kitchens or living-rooms and the proper 
ventilation of the apartments where plumbing-fixtures 
are located. Consider also the arrangements for heat- 
ing and ventilating the rooms. Examine the rear yard 
as to cleanliness, paving, drainage, freedom from odors; 
and if there are privy-vaults or school-sinks, observe 
if they are not full and overflowing, but kept in good 
order, neat, and unobjectionable in every respect. 
Finally, inquire into the proper garbage removal by 
separate closed receptacles, one intended for ashes 
and the other for the kitchen refuse. 

Below I give, first, a brief schedule for tenement-house 
inspections, and second and third, more complete 
schedules, such as were in use by the first and the 
second New York State Tenement House Commissions. 
A very excellent schedule for inspections of tenement- 
houses may also be found in Dr. George M. Price's 
" Handbook of Sanitation," published by John Wiley 
& Sons. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 79 

Schedule for Sanitary Inspection of Tenement-houses 
Location? 

GENERAL CONSTRUCTION 

Size of lot . . 

Size of building 

Number of stories 

Number of tenements 

Number of families? 

When erected? 

Proportion of unoccupied lot? 

Distance from rear buildings? 

Construction of first floor? 



LIGHT AND AIR 

Area of light and vent shafts? 

Number and area of water-closet shafts? 

Number of windows? Size? 

Floor space? Size of bedrooms?. . . .Size of kitchens? 

Cubic space in bedrooms? 

How are the tenements lighted at night? 



Is it damp? Condition of walls? 

Condition of cellar floor? Condition of cellar ceiling? 

Are there water-closets in the cellar? 

Are there any living rooms in the cellar? 

Is any trade or business carried on on premises? 



GENERAL CLEANLINESS 



Roof? 

Staircases? 

Are the stairs ventilated? Are they lighted? . 

Are there strong hand-rails? 

Halls? 

State of cleanliness? Are they lighted at night?. 

Are they dark in day time? 



80 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



Garbage removal? 

Water-supply? 

Is it from street pressure? Size of supply service?. 

Material? 

Are there hand-pumps at sinks on every floor? 

Is there a pump in the cellar? 

Is there a tank on the roof? 

What is the condition of the roof-tank? 

Drainage? 

Precautions against fire? 

Are there fire-escapes in front? 

Are there escapes in the rear? 

Are the stairs incombustible? 

Yard? 

Condition? Paved? 

Does the yard contain the privy vault? 

Is there any school sink in the yard? 

Special inquiry as to the plumbing 

Character, material, size, and condition of — 

House drain House-trap Leaders 

Soil-pipes Waste-pipes Vent-pipes. . . . 

Sinks Water-closets Washtubs 

Bath-tubs Tank Faucets 

Traps etc etc 



Blank Form for Inspection, Prepared by the First New 
York State Tenement-house Commission of 1884 



File No Date 

Inspector 

House No. of stories 

Material Built about how long 

Single or Double Number of families on floor .... 

Owner 

Address 

Is name posted? 

Duties of housekeeper 

Soil (sand, clay, rock, or made ground) 

Street, how paved Condition 

Size of lot. Per cent of lot covered . . . 

House fronts In good or bad repair 

Width, of areas, front Rear Alley, width .... 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 81 

Distance between front and rear houses 

Adjoining nuisances Any stable in building 

Any animals or fowls kept in house 

Cellar, depth below sidewalk Height of ceiling 

How used Condition 

How floored Are walls damp? 

Number and size of windows 

Location of " . .Are they kept closed? 

How occupied or used 

House, stairs, width Condition 

Width of well-hole Fire-escapes How located . . 

Are windows obstructed? 

Halls, are they kept clean? By whom? 

Have walls settled? Condition of plaster and ceiling. 

How is roof reached? Is roof door locked? 

Are hallways obstructed? 

Are halls lighted at night? 

How lighted by day How ventilated 

Roof, Material Condition How used 

Flat or sloping 

Are chimneys in good repair 

Skylights tight or open Form of opening 

Garbage, how stored When removed 

Yard, how paved Size Is it cleanly? 

Is light obscured by clothes hung to dry? 

Privy vault, material Number of seats . . . 

How connected with sewer Condition 

How ventilated How full 

School sink, size and condition 

Distance from nearest window Any complaint of odors? 

Water-closets, kind Location 

Condition How flushed? 

Sinks Trapped 

Are all traps ventilated? How ? 

Are waste-pipes properly jointed? 

Are sinks improperly used? 

Water-supply, in yard, rooms, or halls 

How high does water rise by day? 

Is water wasting from fixtures? 

Pumps Condition 

Hydrant, condition How wasted? 

Tanks on roof, size Overflow discharges 



82 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



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GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 85 



Heating and lighting — Stove Damper in pipe? 

Does chimney smoke? Is coal gas noticed? . . . 

Light shafts, how located? Size? 

End where? Is bottom open? 

Are they used improperly?. . . . Size of windows opening into . 

Are there side windows therefrom into courts or outer air?. 

Are transom windows into hall kept open? 

Bedrooms, how lighted and ventilated 

Are there any transom windows over doors between rooms?. 
Summary, Total occupants Adults .... Children 

Number of beggars recorded? 

Number of saloons on block front? 

Any signs of drunkenness? Class of tenants 

Any sleeping in halls or yards? 



Schedules for Sanitary Inspections of Tenement-houses 
(Second N. Y. State Tenement-house Commission of 1900.) 
Tenement built in Record No 



apartments 

Street No Near .... (Street or Avenue) . . 

No. of stories Date of inspection 1900 

Hour ' ' (Inspector 

No. of buildings in row, of which this is typical? 

First Floor: 

Used for what business? and 

Any special fixtures? 

Apartments: 

No. of apartments on each floor? Total No.? 

No. of people on each floor? 

Each apartment has how many rooms? 

Sink in Apartments: 

Location? Material? 

Condition of sink? 

Condition of floor and woodwork? 

Enclosed in woodwork? 

Sink waste, free or choked? 

Sink drain-boards, condition? 

Cold- and hot-water faucets? 

Does water run freely on top floor? 



86 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Sink Trap: 

Size? Material? Condition? 

Sink-trap Vent: 

Size? Material? Condition? 

Washtubs in Apartments: 

Number? Location? 

Material? , 

Condition? 

Covers, open or closed? 

Tubs filled or empty? 

Hot- and cold-water faucets? 

Condition of floor and woodwork? 

Washtub Trap: 

Size? Material? Condition? 

Washtub Trap-vent: 

Size? Material? Condition? 

Bathtub: 

Describe 

Light and ventilation of bath compartment? 

Stove-heated Boiler: 

Sediment ends where? 

Water-closets in Apartment: (see special card) 

Any other Fixtures 

Describe . . . .- 

Ice-box: 

Location and condition? 

Drip, how disposed of? 

Is safe waste trapped? 

Condition of floor? 

Are clothes dried in apartment; 

in what rooms? 

Soil-, Waste-, or Vent-pipes in Apartments: 

Visible in apartment or concealed? 

No. of soil? Material? Condition? 

No. of waste? Material? Condition? 

No. of vent? Material? Condition 

Joints in Soil-, Waste-, and Vent-pipes: 

Material? 

Condition? 

Remarks : 

Official Inspection of Building: 

When and by whom? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 87 

Cellar: 

Used for what purpose? 

Closed or open stairs or shafts from cellar to upper floors? .... 

Light by day? 

Light by night? 

Ventilation? 

Condition of Cellar: 

Clean or dirty? 

Rubbish or faecal matter? 

Whitewashed? 

Kind of Cellar Floor and Condition: * 

Earth? Cement? Stone? 

Water-proofed? How? 

Damp, wet, or dry? 

Ceiling of Cellar: 

Material? Fireproof? 

Sound or broken? 

Openings into pipe chases or flues? 

Cellar Floor Drain: 

How connected? 

Evidence of under-drains? 

How connected? 

Blind drains? Condition? 

Main Drain: 

Above or below floor? 

Material and quality? 

Size? 

How supported? 

Patched or sound? 

Kind and condition of joints? 

Number of free openings in drains? 

Any odor from drains? 

Steam or other drips, connecting with drains where? 

Cleanouts on drains 

Kinds and Number? 

House Trap: 

Location? Accessible? 

Kind of cleanout covers? 

Fresh-air Inlet: 

Size? 

Ends where and how? 

Free or choked? 



88 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Number and Sizes of Connecting Drains in Cellar: 

No. of soil-pipes? Size? Material? . . . . 

No. of waste-pipes? Size? Material? . . . , 

No. of vent-pipes? Size? Material? . . . . 

Number of Visible Traps in Cellar for 

Leaders? , 

Yard, court or area drains? 

Sink or other Fixtures in Cellar: 

Number and kind? 

Material and condition? 

Trapped and vented? 

How supplied with water? 

Drips or safe wastes over sink Flap- valves? 

Water Service in Cellar: 

Size of house mains and material? 

Meter, what kind? 

Supply to house-tank, direct or pump? Size? 

Controlled by whom? 

Pump Kind? Size? Condition? . 

Direct supply, to what floors? 

Tank supply, to what floors? 

Rubbish Bins: 

Location? Material? Condition? . . . 

Front and Back Yards, Courts, Areas, Light Shafts: 

Condition? 

Paved? Material? 

Will surface drain? 

Provision for Drainage, Back Yards and Courts: 

Iron cesspools? Mason's traps? 

Blind drains? . Trapped? 

Leaders: 

Number and location? Inside or outside? 

Material? 

Trapped? 

Condition? 

Used for soil- or vent-pipes? 

Are soil-, waste-, or vent-pipes used for leaders? 

Hydrant in Yard: 

Location? 

Used by how many families? 

Used by how many people? 

Is hydrant water used for drinking? . 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 89 

Pump or Well in Yard: 

Location? 

How near privies? ; 

Condition? 

Used by how many families? 

Used by how many people? 

Is water used for drinking? 

Garbage-cans: 

Location and condition? 

Cesspool : 

No. and location? 

Dimensions deep 

How far from building? 

How far from pump or well? 

Nature of surrounding soil? 

Material of walls? 

Tight or leaching? 

Overflow delivers where? 

Ventilated? 

Provision for emptying? 

Emptied, how often and how? 

Disinfected, how often and how? 

Receives what drainage? 

Halls: 

Do water-closets open on halls? (see special card) 

Public Sink in Halls: 

Number? Location? Total No.? 

Used by how many families? 

Used by how many people? 

Material of sink? 

Used for faecal matter or urine? 

Cased or free? 

Trap material? Size? Condition ? 

Vent material? Size? Condition? 

Any odor at sink? 

Is sink well lighted? 

Condition of floors and walls? 

Water-supply for Hall Fixtures: 

Street supply, what floors? 

Deficient supply, on what floors? 

Pump at fixtures, what floors? 

Tank supply? What floors? 



90 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Other Fixtures in Halls: 

Describe : 

Roof: 

Condition of roof? 

Any faecal matter? 

Roof-drains, where? 

Condition of gutters? 

Are leader connections free? 

Soil-, Waste-, and Vent-pipes above Roof: 

Soil No.? Size? Material? 

Waste No.? Size? Material? 

Vent No.? Size? Material? 

Wire globe cages or caps? 

Open how high above roof? 

Open less than 20 ft. from windows or ventilators? . . 
Roof -tank: 

Location? 

Material? 

Dimensions inside? 

Capacity in U. S. gallons? 

Tight or leaking? 

Cover? Material? 

Tank, how full? 

Tank, how supplied? Ball-cock? Pump?. 

Tank frost-proofed? 

Tank supplies what floors? 

Tank- water used for drinking? 

Tank overflow ends where? 

Tank overflow trapped? 

Tank clean or dirty? 

Tank draw-off ends where? 

Do drain-vents open near tank? 

Provision for Drying Clothes: 

Back yard? Back-yard 

Roof lines? In air-shaft?. . 

Soil: 

Character of ground shown by Viele's map? 

Over water-courses? 

Over marsh? 

Over made land?. 

Remarks 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 91 

Laws : 

Do plumbing and drainage conform with laws in force at 
time building was built? 

What violations? 

Water-closet Accomodations, Pipes: 
Number and Kind of Fixtures. Location: 

Privy vault? 

School sink or latrine? 

W T ater-closets? 

Sewer or cesspool disposal? 

Each Fixture Used by How Many: 

Families? Total Number of families? 

People? Total Number of people? 

Buildings in Back Yard: 

Number, material of structure, size, condition? 

How far from other buildings? 

Used separately or in common? 

Number of compartments and condition? 

Locked or open? 

Separate buildings or compartments for sexes? 

Building, how lighted by day? 

how lighted by night? 

how ventilated? 

Kind of floor and condition? 

Number and kind of seats and condition? 

Cased with wood below seats? 

Remarks 

Privy Vault and Location: 

Size and material of vault? x x deep 

Water-tight or leaching? 

Is overflow connected to sewer or cesspool? 

Is overflow trapped? 

Vault how full? 

Provision for flushing? 

Provision for emptying? 

Emptied, how often? 

Apparatus used for emptying? 

Provision for disinfecting? 

Disinfected, how often? 

Odor? 

Remarks, ,.,,...., , , , , . . , 



92 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

School Sink or Latrine and Location: 

No Material? Above or below floor? 

Size and how full? 

Outlet plugged or open? 

Who operates plug, and how often? 

Sewer or cesspool connected? 

Is fixture trapped? 

Provision for flushing? 

Water how connected? 

Condition of fixture? 

Remarks : 

Water-closets, Location and Number: 

In yard? 

In cellar? 

In halls? 

In apartments? 

Water-closet Compartment: 

Has compartment window to outer air, court, light shaft, 
light well, hall, cellar, or apartment? specify 

Well lighted? 

How lighted at night? 

Has compartment ventilation flue? Size?. , 

United or individual vent-flues? 

Material of floor and condition? 

Material of walls and condition? 

Floor slab or safe? Material? Wet or dry?. 

Is there a safe waste? 

Type of Closet and How Trapped: 

Pan closet? Syphon closet? 

Wash-out closet? Long-hopper closet? 

Wash-down closet? Short-hopper closet? 

Other type? > 

Material of Bowl and Condition: 

Earthenware? 

Enameled iron? Iron? 

Connected earthenware vent-horn, cracked or broken? 

Washered coupling on vent? 

Vented from below floor? 

Floor plate? 

Drip-pan? Condition? 

Material and condition of seat? 

Is fixture cased in wood or stone? Condition? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 93 

Closet, How Flushed: 

Individual tank? 

Automatic tank? 

Direct from water-pipe? 

Water from house-tank or street pressure? 

Is there sufficient flush on all floors? 

Deficient flush, on what floors? 

Tanks out of order? 

Odor? 

What disinfectants used? 

Remarks: 

Soil-, Waste-, and Vent-pipes: 

Soil, No.? Size? 

Material? 

Waste, No.? Size? 

Material? 

Vent, No.? Size? 

Material? 

Exposed or cased? 

Patched, and how? 

Are openings about pipes sealed at floors? 

Joints: 

Kind and condition of joints? 

Remarks : 

Street? No.? 

Near? (St. Ave.) 

Builder? 

Owner? . 

Plumber? 

Are plans now on file in Building Department? 

Plans approved by? 

Violations filed? 

Violations removed? 

Recorded date of water- test by department? 

Recorded date of final test by department? 

Deaths? in years 

Contagious diseases reported? No. in . . . .years . 

What diseases? 

Death-rate of building? 

Death-rate of block? 

Sick-rate of building? 

Sick-rate of block? , 



94 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



SMOKE TEST 



Applied. Date? 1900. Hour? 

By 

Machine attached to 

Smoke returned through 

Vent-pipes choked 

Drains untrapped 

Leaks disclosed and location? 

Total number of leaks? 

Remarks 



FREE OPENINGS FOR ESCAPE OF DRAIN-AIR TO BUILDING 



Disclosed by inspection? enumerate. 
Total number of openings? 



TRAP-SIPHONAGE 

Any evidence of trap-siphonage? Where? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 95 



Inspection of Country Houses 

Let us now pass over to the consideration of country 
houses. These may be subdivided into (1) suburban 
residences and (2) summer residences, — the former 
being occupied all the year round by people doing 
business in the city, who wisely care more for the 
health of their growing children than for entertain- 
ments which they must forego if living "out-of-town," 
and who prefer a rural or suburban home to narrow 
and unventilated apartments, or dark and unsanitary 
city houses, while the latter are owned or leased by 
people who go to the country in search of pure air, to 
avoid the influence of unsanitary surroundings in the 
city, or who seek refuge at a country-seat in the moun- 
tains or at the seaside for at least several months of 
the year, from the summer's scorching heat, from dusty 
streets, heated pavements, and the stifling and smoky 
atmosphere of a city. The sanitary inspection of both 
classes of houses and of their surroundings does not 
differ materially. 

Healthfulness of Town and Country Houses Com- 
pared.— While there are certain undeniable charms and 
general advantages of rural life as compared with life 
in cities, yet it is true that the mere fact of living in 
the country tends, with many people, to create a false 
sense of security. For on closer observation it is found 
that in rural not less than in urban districts there may 
exist certain forms of "filth," due to neglect and dis- 
regard of sanitary precautions, which may become 
fruitful causes of infection and preventable disease. 
While air, rendered impure by all kind of noxious 
exhalations, by smoke, street dung, and other volatile, 
injurious matters, may be looked upon as the promi- 



96 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

nent factor causing sickness in cities, we find in the 
country a greater danger from a contamination of the 
soil and of the drinking-water. Nevertheless, even in 
the country the atmosphere in the vicinity of houses, 
and air entering these through doors, windows, and 
the air-inlets to the heating-apparatus, may be con- 
taminated, if no regard is paid to the proper disposal 
of waste matters from the household. 

The removal of sewage from habitations, the intro- 
duction of a pure and never-ceasing supply of water 
for domestic purposes, and the removal of ashes and 
garbage, are sanitary measures carried out in cities 
by the public authorities; and a householder may 
restrict his attention in the city, so far as his dwelling 
is concerned, to the purity of the supply of air— in 
other words, chiefly to the heating-apparatus, to the 
arrangements for ventilation, and to the plumbing 
work. In the country, on the other hand, his care and 
exertion should be principally devoted to the sources 
of drinking-water — the well, cistern, spring, pond, or 
lake, as the case may be — and to the means of remov- 
ing and disposing of the waste matters from the house : 
therefore sink-pipes, drains, cesspools, vaults, privies, 
and manure-heaps are the subjects requiring particular 
attention to maintain a locality in a perfectly salu- 
brious condition. 

Inspection of the Site. — It is an old saying, that, in 
choosing a residence, one should inquire of some 
person who formerly lived in the neighborhood, and 
sold out; and this, while referring to town and country 
houses alike, is particularly true of rural habitations. 

Regarding the location, note whether the house 
stands on elevated ground, at the top of a hill, ex- 
posed to wintry blasts, and to bleak and boisterous 
winds at all seasons of the year; or in a valley or 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 97 

ravine, enclosed on all sides, and with the air in a stag- 
nant condition; or built too closely against a rather 
steep hillside; or, finally, on the gentle slope of a hill, 
with a cheerful and sunny aspect, and a pleasant pros- 
pect from the windows of the principal rooms. Always 
observe or inquire into the direction from which the 
prevailing winds blow. 

Carefully look into the surroundings of the house. 
The neighborhood of swamps, marshes, sluggish water- 
courses, stagnant pools, or ponds in which the water- 
level is liable to frequent fluctuations, should be avoided; 
for these are the localities where malarial diseases, 
fever and ague are apt to be most frequent. Sewage 
farms, cemeteries, rendering establishments and soap- 
works, bone factories and oil distilleries, etc., are 
unpleasant neighbors, and should be equally shunned. 
An important advantage over city houses, common to 
nearly all country houses, is that they are standing 
isolated, and surrounded with plenty of free space on 
all sides; detached and even semi-detached houses are 
always preferable, from a health point of view, to dull, 
tiresome, and monotonous rows of brick or brownstone- 
front city houses. 

An abundance of shade-trees about a country resi- 
dence is much to be desired; but the trees should not 
surround a house too closely, robbing it of sunlight 
and a proper circulation of air. The character of the 
site exerts a great influence upon the healthfulness of a 
country house, and preference should always be given 
to houses on dry, sandy, or gravelly soils. Alluvial 
and clay soils ought to be avoided, as tending to be 
damp and chilly. The worst possible building-sites, in 
suburban districts, are low spots, recently filled with 
house garbage and street rubbish. In this matter of 
choice of location, it must constantly be borne in mind, 



98 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

that, while defective construction may generally be 
remedied, unhealthy surroundings, an undesirable as- 
pect, or an insalubrious building-site cannot be changed. 
Careful search should also be made for abandoned 
cesspools, or overflows from cesspools into open ditches 
or ponds, which in many cases constitute a serious 
nuisance. As regards the external sewerage, the drain- 
pipes and the sewage disposal, one may safely assume, 
that, unless it was recently remodeled, it is not as it 
ought to be to prevent the contamination of the sub- 
soil, and the accumulation of putrefying organic matter 
in the pipes. 

Inspection of the House Foundations and Cellar. — 
Having thus ascertained whether the surroundings are 
free from objection, the next step should be the ex- 
amination of the dwelling itself. Note its general con- 
struction and material, and the distance from the house 
to the street. 

It is well to commence the house-inspection in the 
cellar, or, if there is no cellar, to make sure that the 
house is well raised, at least two feet, above the surface- 
level on brick piers; that there is an abundant air-space 
between the ground and the building (otherwise, 
ground-air is liable to rise into the living and sleeping 
rooms, and, besides this, floor-joists and floor-boards 
will rot soon); and that there is no rank or decaying 
vegetation underneath the house. Spaces ur.der piazzas 
are very apt to accumulate rotten leaves, dust, or 
rubbish, and should therefore be made accessible, and 
frequently inspected and cleaned. The cold-air box 
of the furnace or steam-heating apparatus should not 
be made to open under a piazza, for here the air stag- 
nates, and is easily rendered foul. Light and air should 
be freely admitted into a cellar, and nothing kept or 
stored in it that might taint its atmosphere, such as 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 99 

rotten vegetables, swill, or other organic refuse; for 
the impure air of the cellar is sure to rise, and to per- 
vade the whole house. See if the cellar-floor is of 
earth, concrete, or bricks, and if the cellar-walls and the 
floor are dry, and free from rat-runs ; note also whether 
provision has been made, by a special vent-flue carried 
down to the cellar, and running along some heated 
smoke-flue, for a change of air. A sanitary cellar 
should always be free from dampness, and should be 
light, sunny, and airy. It should. never be made the 
storage-place of large quantities of vegetables, which 
produce unhealthy exhalations. 

A perfectly built house should be completely sepa- 
rated from the surrounding soil by a water and air 
tight cellar-floor, and by damp-proof foundation-walls, 
to prevent ground-air and soil-moisture from rising. 
If the house is separated from the ground surrounding 
it by areas, see if they are dry and ventilated, and 
whether they have proper outlets for the removal of 
storm-water. The whole site of the dwelling should be 
dry, and, if necessary, it ought to be well underdrained; 
all sub-soil water, especially where a hillside is sloping 
toward the house, should be cut off, and removed by 
special drain-trenches or tile pipes, and these should 
always be kept separate or disconnected from any foul 
drain or cesspool. 

Inspection of Walls, Roofs, and Rooms. — The first 
and foremost purpose of a habitation is to afford shelter 
against the elements, hence all the exposed walls of 
the house should be impervious to moisture. In many 
frame cottages it is difficult and troublesome to prevent 
soakage of the walls, and the wetting of the wall-paper 
during driving rain-storms. The outer walls of an 
isolated house should be so constructed as to keep out 
the cold in winter and the heat in summer. Roofs 



100 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

should be kept thoroughly tight and waterproof, and 
means provided to prevent moisture from descending 
into the walls. Dripping roofs, 'without gutters or 
eaves, are a frequent cause of the dampness of the soil 
near dwellings, and hence of damp and unhealthy- 
foundations. Damp houses are insalubrious and per- 
sons living in them are very easily chilled, and people 
often experience draughts or a general feeling of dis- 
comfort. Indeed, many a fatal cold has been con- 
tracted owing to a damp and chilly atmosphere in a 
country house. 

The principal rooms of country houses should be large, 
comfortable, and light, with windows of ample dimen- 
sions to let in plenty of sunlight; each window should, 
preferably, admit the invigorating glow of the sun 
during at least a portion of the day. People as a rule, 
do not appreciate the beneficial effects of sunshine 
until compelled to live in a cold and cheerless room, 
where the rays of the sun never gain entrance. Neither 
plants nor human beings can do without sunlight ; both 
grow feeble, pale, and weak. Sunlight is, in many 
respects, a most valuable aid to cleanliness, and at all 
times a good purifier. Therefore, do not shut it out. 

Admit to all living and bedrooms not only the pure 
air of heaven, but also the warm and pleasant glow of 
the sunlight. And if, owing to the wrong aspect of a 
house already built, you find that it does not enter 
into some of its rooms, do not choose these for the 
nursery, or for the principal living or bedrooms. At 
all events, in inspecting a house, do not forget to refer 
to the points of the compass to note if the house lacks 
sunshine — one of the most vital factors in domestic 
sanitation. 

Indeed, sunshine is such a precious gift that it would 
appear wrong and sinful to exclude it from any room 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 101 

of the house by any permanent arrangements, such as 
too wide piazza-roofs, trees placed too near a house, 
or heavy, dark, inside curtains. Movable blinds or 
shutters are better in this respect, but even they should 
not be kept closed too long. Says Col. Waring: "Let 
the sun have free access to the outside of the whole 
house at some time during the day, and keep shutters 
and blinds and windows open except when it is neces- 
sary to exclude the light. Never mind faded carpets: 
they are not so bad as faded cheeks; and these 
cannot be avoided except by fresh air and ample 
daylight." 

In bedrooms insanitary conditions ought to be most 
studiously avoided. These and the nursery are the 
most important rooms of a house: they should be 
located on the sunny side, and be large, airy, well- 
lighted, and amply ventilated, cosily and cheerfully 
furnished, but so as to be as much as possible free 
from " dust-catching and dust-yielding" materials. 

The furniture should be light, and curtains, portieres, 
hangings, carpets, rugs, upholstery, should be sparingly 
used, and the dust from them frequently removed. 
Window-curtains too often shut out those best of all 
disinfectants, sunshine and pure air. All bedding 
should receive a daily airing. Carpets should be 
avoided. It is better not to paper the walls of bed- 
rooms; but, if they are thus finished, avoid both the 
dust-retaining flock-papers and poisonous arsenical 
papers. 

Bedrooms should have, if possible, an open fireplace 
to remove the air rendered impure from breathing, or 
from burning lights. Slop- jars and chambers in bed- 
rooms are often the cause of the defilement of the air, 
unless thoroughly cleaned by a daily application of 
soap and hot water. Soiled clothing should never be 



102 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

allowed to accumulate for any length of time in unven- 
tilated closets of bedrooms. 

The servants' chambers should be as cheerful and 
light as the circumstances will permit. Unplastered 
garret rooms ought never to be used as servants' 
quarters; for in winter they are too cold, in summer 
too hot, and at all times detrimental to health. 

Look carefully into the condition of the walls, floors, 
and ceilings of all rooms; see especially that the ceilings 
are whitewashed, and the floors free from cracks and 
crevices. Examine carefully into the condition of 
pantries, closets, and storerooms: they should be well- 
lighted and well-aired to keep the food free from the 
least suspicion of contamination. Special cleanliness 
should exist wherever the milk is stored; for it is well 
known that this very readily absorbs any impurities 
from the surrounding air, and becomes unfit for use. 
The refrigerator in which articles of food are kept 
should never be connected directly with any pipe 
carrying foul sewage. 

Inspection of the Heating Apparatus.— In inspecting 
those suburban residences which are occupied during 
all seasons of the year, the heating arrangements must 
not be forgotten. Warm-air furnaces form the appa- 
ratus principally used in the better class of houses; 
and the most important point regarding them is that 
they should not take the air from the cellar. They 
should have large, well-constructed cold-air boxes, 
taking the supply of pure air from outdoors. The 
inlet should not be located too near the surface of the 
ground, nor should it open near manure-heaps, privies, 
vaults, swill-barrels, openings into sewers, or near cess- 
pools, and it should be well protected against the 
entrance of dirt or dust. In country houses, which are 
much exposed, it is advisable to arrange air-inlets on 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 103 

opposite sides of the house, to avoid the annoyances 
arising from wind-pressure. As a rule, it is preferable 
to provide for the larger and much-exposed country 
houses two furnaces, in order not to be compelled to 
keep up in very cold weather a fire which would heat 
the furnace to red heat. The remarks made as to the 
best arrangement and management of the heating- 
apparatus of city houses may, with advantage, be here 
repeated. See if due provision is made for heating the 
halls; for this will insure a uniformity of warmth all 
over the house, and will help much to prevent annoying 
draughts. 

Safety from Fire.— Again, all that has been said con- 
cerning the precautions against fire applies with equal 
force to country houses. It is even of greater import- 
ance, in the case of these, to guard against the dangers 
from fire; since the majority of such buildings are 
constructed entirely of wood — hence are very inflam- 
mable — besides being usually out of reach of a fire 
department. 

Inspection of the Plumbing Work. — In these days of 
greater luxury and refinement, country houses are no 
longer built without having some of the so-called 
"modern conveniences." It will be wise not to over- 
look, in our examination of the dwelling, the arrange- 
ment of these labor-saving and comfort-promoting 
appliances. It will suffice, however, to indicate merely 
the principal points of such an inquiry, as much of what 
ha? been said concerning the plumbing of city houses 
refers equally to that of houses in the country. 

Ascertain first if the drain outside of the house is 
properly laid, with pipes of small size, with sufficient 
grade, tight joints, and true alignment. Make sure, 
next, that the house-pipes are completely cut off from 
the outside drains and cesspools; that all pipes are of a 



104 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

sound material, and substantially put together with 
air and water-tight joints; that the main drain in the 
house is restricted in size, run with proper and sufficient 
fall, or, if this cannot be had, that some flushing arrange- 
ment is provided; that the soil-pipe is not larger than 
four inches in diameter, and fully ventilated, and 
carried well above the roof, in a perfectly straight line 
if possible, without any bends or offsets, an inlet being 
provided at the foot of the drain to establish a constant 
circulation of air through every foot of drain- and soil- 
pipe in the house, but not located too near a window, 
or near the cold-air inlet of the heating apparatus. 

See that each fixture has a separate and efficient 
trap or barrier against entrance of foul gases; that 
there is a proper supply of water to each fixture and 
trap ; that all plumbing-appliances are of good, smooth, 
and non-absorbent material, and arranged as simple 
as possible, without any concealed overflow-pipes or 
hidden channels, but with everything in plain sight. 

The construction and type of the fixtures should be 
such that when emptied or discharged, they act like a 
flush-tank, completely scouring the traps and branch 
waste-pipes, which latter should form a connecting 
link with the main soil-pipe as direct and short as pos- 
sible. Never allow a wash-basin or other plumbing 
fixture to remain in a bedroom or in an unventilated 
closet adjoining it; rather than have in any part of. 
the house a fixture which is not used, and which by 
evaporation of the water in the trap, quickly opens a 
road to sewer-air, disconnect it and close the waste- 
pipe carefully. People often say, when an inspection 
of the premises is made, "Oh, this fixture cannot be 
the cause of danger, or even annoying odors, for it is 
hardly ever used!" Popular notion seldom com- 
mitted a more serious error, for with plumbing-fix- 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 105 

tures it is disuse which means danger. The more 
frequently, on the contrary, a fixture is used, 
ceteris paribus, the better will its oipe and trap be 
flushed. 

See that the fullest light and thorough ventilation 
prevail in the bathroom, and in the closet for the 
house-maid's slop-sink; make it a rule to have all 
plumbing exposed to view and accessible, and do 
away entirely with the usually ill-smelling woodwork 
incasing such places, particularly at the kitchen-sink 
and at the water-closet. 

Inspection of the Water-supply. — Two subjects of 
the greatest importance for all country homes, and 
intimately connected with each other, require particular 
consideration. These are the water-supply and the 
disposal of the household wastes. 

A public supply, delivering the water to habitations 
in pressure-conduits or street-mains, is seldom available 
in the country. The drinking-water has usually to be 
drawn by buckets or pumps from a well on the premises, 
sunk to only a shallow depth, and often liable to be 
contaminated from surface-washings, or by the careless 
dipping into it of unclean vessels. Driven wells are 
not quite so liable to surface contamination; yet even 
they may be contaminated by leakage of sewage, unless 
sunk to a very great depth, and penetrating below 
some impervious stratum. It sounds like a truism to 
say that wells supplying drinking-water should be most 
scrupulously watched, and kept free from contamina- 
tion; yet how seldom is proper care bestowed upon 
this matte] 1 ! The drain which carries the liquid wastes 
from the house to a cesspool often passes near the well ; 
and unless the pipes are laid with unusual care and 
forethought, by experienced workmen, the imperfect 
and often uncemented joints and broken pipes allow 



106 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

the slop-water to leak into the soil, from which it passes 
by filtration into the well. 

But the most frequent and most dangerous causes of 
contamination of wells are the leaching cesspool (that 
vast receptacle of decomposing organic matter from 
the household) and the privy, both generally located, 
on account of convenience and economy, in close prox- 
imity to the house. The well from which the house- 
hold draws its supply of drinking-water is thoughtlessly 
located, more often than not, quite near to them. It is 
difficult to state the least distance which ought to exist 
between a well and a privy or a leaching cesspool, if the 
latter is at all to be tolerated. While some authorities 
put it at from one to two hundred feet, the safer rule 
would seem to be always to put the cesspool in the 
farthest available corner of the lot. Even when such 
a location is feasible, it must not be forgotten that a 
leaching cesspool is at best a makeshift and an un- 
sanitary device; and that, when placed far away from 
your own dwelling to insure safety, it may contam- 
inate a spring or a water-course from which your 
neighbor further down the hillside draws his supply 
of potable water. It is much safer to establish the 
rigid rule that, wherever a house and its neighborhood 
has to depend on wells or springs for water-supply, 
leaching cesspools should not be tolerated at all; and, 
vice versa, wherever leaching cesspools exist, the water 
from pump, draw, or driven well should never be used 
for drinking purposes. 

It is quite easy to ascertain whether any hidden 
connection exists between a leaching cesspool, house- 
sewer, or privy-vault and a well or cistern. Add to 
the contents of the cesspool or privy-vault a large 
quantity of salt, or introduce a strong salt solution into 
the house-drain. Make a chemical test of the well or 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 107 

cistern water for chlorine, before and after pouring 
the salt solution; and if, in the latter instance, the 
analysis reveals a largely increased amount, it is a 
sure sign of a leakage existing. To test for chlorine, 
fill a glass test-tube about half full with water, and 
add to it a few drops of a nitrate-of-silver solution. 
The presence of chlorine is indicated by a white pre- 
cipitate, consisting of chloride of silver. 

Another, although more expensive and not readily 
available, method, is to apply the "lithia" test, by 
throwing into the cesspool, privy- vault, or sewer some 
lithium salts, and testing the well-water afterwards 
for the lithium, by means of the spectroscope, which 
clearly indicates by the peculiar red lithium line even 
minute amounts of this element in the water. 

It is far less objectionable if a country house uses a 
tight cesspool. Examine it carefully as to dimensions 
and material. Measure its distance from the house; 
see if it is built water-tight, well covered, and note 
whether it is ventilated. Let the cesspool be small in 
size, and have it frequently emptied and cleaned, and 
occasionally disinfected. If there are any privies, note 
their location and distance from the house, the well, 
and the cistern. Note if they are offensive or inodorous 
and well ventilated, and constructed in such a manner 
as to be readily emptied and cleaned, and fully pro- 
tected against entrance of rain or moisture. 

Before permitting the water from a well to be used 
in your household, make a thorough inspection of the 
well; note if it is a dug or driven well, a shallow or 
deep well; measure its depth and the depth of the 
average water-level below the surface; examine the 
inside lining of the well as to imperviousness ; see how 
the well is covered, and how it is protected against the 
entrance of surface-washings or vermin. 



108 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Next have a sanitary examination of the water made 
by a competent chemist. Good water ought to be 
agreeable to the palate, cool, yet not too cold; it should 
be colorless, clear, and bright, free from oclor, without 
sediment or suspended matter, and not too hard. A 
water-analysis should cover at least the following points : 
First, observe the color of the water, which is readily 
done by filling a tall glass vessel, and looking down 
upon the water. A decided greenish, yellow, or brown 
tint indicates animal or vegetable contamination. The 
sense of smell may be of some value in judging the 
quality of a certain water by filling a bottle partly, and 
closing it with a glass stopper, next agitating it vio- 
lently, and then smelling at the mouth of the bottle. 
A slight warming of the bottle may aid in disclosing 
impurities. Next note the taste of the water; but, in 
doing so, remember that waters which do not taste 
offensively may yet be badly polluted with sewage. 
It is a well-known fact that some of the most sparkling 
and pleasant well-waters revealed, upon examination, 
a very bad pollution. 

After noting the principal physical qualities, a 
chemical analysis should be made, covering the fol- 
lowing points: the amount of total solids; the hard- 
ness of the water, especially its permanent hardness; 
the amount of chlorine, of free ammonia, of nitrates, 
and of the organic matter contained in the water. As 
a rule, a qualitative analysis is sufficient to throw light 
upon the unwholesomeness of a suspicious water; in 
more important cases, however, a quantitative analysis 
should also be performed. Occasionally it becomes 
necessary to test a water for poisonous metals, such 
as zinc, lead, or copper. A microscopical examination 
often adds considerable information regarding the 
quality of a certain water. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 109 

The chemical analysis is of equal importance in the 
case of deep and shallow or surface wells, as in the 
case of cistern-water, or lake or brook water. If the 
examination of well-water reveals any pollution by 
sewage, it is advisable to use only boiled and filtered 
rain-water for cooking and drinking purposes. If the 
drinking-water is derived from a running stream or 
brook, carefully inspect the banks for a long distance 
above the point where the water is taken, and make 
sure that no sewage-slops, manufacturing wastes, or 
surface-washings from manured fields forming a part of 
the gathering grounds, run into the stream. 

The rain falling upon roofs commonly yields for 
cottages of average size water sufficient in quantity 
for household purposes; and, if the most ordinary 
precautions be observed in collecting and storing it, 
rain-water constitutes a desirable and healthful bever- 
age. It is not advisable to collect rain from zinc roofs, 
or roofs that are painted. The best roofing material is 
slate or else tiles; but shingle roofs will answer, except 
that the water from them acquires at times a taste 
from decaying wood-splinters washed into the cistern. 
Care should be taken to have the roofs and gutters 
clean; and the first washings, containing mineral dust, 
soot, spores of plants, or other organic matter, ought 
always to be allowed to run off on the surface by a 
cut-off or separator, worked by hand, or else arranged 
to act automatically. It is also very necessary to see 
if any slop-water can find its way, directly or indirectly, 
into the cistern. The cistern for storing rain-water 
should be built thoroughly water-tight, and be pro- 
tected against any possible pollution, especially against 
entrance of surface-washings, or leaves of trees, insects, 
small animals, and all kinds of animal and vegetable 
impurities. It should be ventilated and thoroughly 



110 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

cleaned every summer. The overflow-pipe from a 
cistern should never discharge into any foul drain-pipe 
or cesspool. It is a good plan, which adds only a 
trifle to the cost, to build a partition of bricks laid with 
loose joints, dividing the cistern into a large and a 
small compartment, and to let the dividing wall act as 
a filter. 

In summer it is a good precaution to boil the water 
first, next to cool it with ice, and to aerate it before 
drinking; but such ice, frequently impure, should not 
be placed in the water. The proper way is to have 
water-coolers with outer and inner chambers — the 
outer for the melting ice, the inner one for the pure 
water. 

Drinking-water may be purified by means of domestic 
filters; but, if these are used, they should never be left 
in charge of thoughtless servants, for they require to 
be frequently cleaned; otherwise, their purifying 
action ceases, and the filtered water soon acquires a 
bad taste, due to the organic impurities retained in the 
filtering material. It is desirable to have filters con- 
structed in such a manner as to allow of easy cleaning 
and aeration. 

If a tank is arranged to supply the plumbing fixtures, 
it should 'be placed in the attic in some accessible place, 
protected against entrance of dust or vermin, and 
ventilated by a suitable opening into the outer air. 
The best material for water tanks is slate, with properly 
made cement joints, or else well-painted wrought iron, 
or finally, tinned copper lining. Lead linings are not 
safe, for in some cases they are attacked by water, 
especially by soft water. It is better not to draw any 
water for drinking or culinary purposes from such a 
tank; for, no matter how pure the water may be 
delivered to a dwelling, it may, by storage, be rendered 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 111 

contaminated and unfit for use, owing to vapors, 
gases, dust, smoke, or floating organic impurities 
present about water-tanks. The tank should under 
no circumstances be used to supply directly the valves 
attached to water-closet bowls. It is necessary that 
each water-closet be flushed separately from its own 
flushing cistern. 

Inspection of the Method of Disposal of Household 
Wastes. — Concerning the best way of disposing of 
household wastes, and of avoiding the cesspool nuisance, 
the aim should be, first, to remove all fouled water 
from the house and its immediate vicinity, as fast as 
generated; and next, to utilize the slops as much as 
possible for agricultural purposes, to enrich the soil, 
and thus to give nourishment to plants and shrubbery 
in the garden. 

The upper layers of the earth possess the power of 
destroying within a short time the organic matter 
buried in them, because the oxygen of the atmosphere 
has free access to the pores of the soil near the surface 
of the ground. In the case of smaller country houses, 
a good substitute for the leaching cesspool is a tight 
sewage tank, located far away from and on a lower 
level than the well. It should be built of brick, laid 
in hydraulic cement, and the liquid house-wastes may 
be delivered into it and be pumped by means of an 
ordinary garden pump with hose attached, and then 
distributed in the vegetable garden. Where the house 
is provided with water-closets, it is necessary to build an 
intercepting chamber, or catch-basin, to separate the 
solids from the liquid sewage. It is of no advantage 
whatever to separate the kitchen slops from the water- 
closet wastes by using two cesspools. Stagnant kitchen 
slops decompose as rapidly, and give off as bad gases 
as putrefying human excreta. Surface irrigation may 



112 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

sometimes be objectionable where the garden is too 
near the house. The trouble of pumping out a tight 
cesspool increases wherever the water-supply is ample, 
and where a larger number of plumbing fixtures is 
constantly used. If the dimensions of the cesspool are 
enlarged, so as to avoid too frequent pumping out, 
the consequence is that the sewage is stored for a con- 
siderable space of time, and that decomposition sets in, 
which makes its proper and innocuous disposal a matter 
of more difficulty, and, in fact, may cause frequent 
complaints of offensiveness. 

In such cases, a better system, and one capable of 
wide adaptability, is the subsurface irrigation system, in 
which the liquid is distributed by gravity, at a depth 
of about ten inches below the surface, by means of 
small, porous tile drains, laid in parallel lines under a 
lawn, grass-land, or in the garden. The sewage should 
be discharged into the distributing pipes in a large 
volume, and at intervals only, by manual labor, or, 
preferably, automatically by means of a self-acting 
flush-tank. Special care is necessary wherever to the 
slop-water is added the discharge from water-closets 
in the house. An intermittent discharge is very 
desirable to allow the filtered liquid to soak away in 
the surface soil, while the organic impurities attaching 
to the earth are rapidly oxidized and assimilated by 
vegetation. In a properly arranged system, the irriga- 
tion field is entirely free from noisome odors, and the 
purification process continues even in severely cold 
weather. The subsurface irrigation field should be 
entirely free from trees, because their roots soon grow 
into the tiles, causing obstructions. 

Inspection of the House Surroundings.— Having 
taken steps to secure a properly arranged system of 
disposal of the house sewage, and a water-supply ample 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 113 

in quantity, of perfect purity, and well guarded against 
contamination, it remains to remove any causes tending 
to a possible pollution of the atmosphere around a 
country house. 

Observe if the lawns and walks, the yard and the 
garden, are kept in a neat and inoffensive condition. 
Let every possible precaution be taken to prevent any 
accumulation of rotten vegetable matters or kitchen 
offal of any kind. All animal and vegetable refuse 
from the kitchen — such as cabbage-leaves, meat-offal, 
fish-bones, potato-parings, etc. — should be dried and 
burnt up in the kitchen range or in a small domestic 
garbage cremator. If a dust bin is required, let it be 
a small, portable one, circular in section, made of strong 
iron protected against rust, and with a well-fitting 
metal cover. Wooden dust barrels are utterly unsuit- 
able. In all cases, dust bins or garbage pails should be 
protected against rain or dampness. Remove manure 
heaps or accumulations of rotten vegetation or animal 
matters. The exposure of these to the scorching heat 
of a midsummer sun accelerates putrefaction, and is 
often the cause of illness, due to breathing such impure 
air. See to it that all ventilation-pipes for the drains 
or for the sewage-tank are carried to a safe height 
above ground. Abolish the common privy for servants 
or farmhands, and substitute for it a properly con- 
structed, well-ventilated, and well-managed earth closet. 
Never tolerate the throwing out of any slops from the 
kitchen window. If the slops were poured on to a dif- 
ferent spot each time, so as to avoid an over-satura- 
tion and fouling of the soil, the practice might not call 
for severe condemnation. But this will rarely be the 
case; and nothing is more disgusting than a large, 
offensive pool of stagnant, foul water near the house, 
exposed to the scorching rays of the sun. 



114 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Barns, stables, cattle-yards, pigsties, hen-coops, and 
other fowl-houses, dog-kennels, and their immediate 
surroundings, should be kept scrupulously clean and 
inoffensive, and their floors ought always to be dry 
and free from moisture. See that they are not placed 
too near the dwelling, and have them looked after from 
time to time, especially if they be located in a direction 
from which the prevailing winds blow. 

Inspection of the Proper Removal of Storm-water. — 
The surface-water from rain-storms or snow-falls should 
be carefully removed to prevent undue dampness or 
rising moisture. Where the rain-water leaders do not 
deliver into a storage cistern, they ought to discharge 
into earthen pipes, laid with care and with a true 
grade, on a firm foundation, and the water carried into 
some convenient ditch, an open water-course, or a 
road-gutter. Rain-water should be removed to some 
distance from the habitation, so that soakage into the 
sub-soil may not cause dampness of the cellar-walls. 
It is inadmissible to connect the rain-leaders to the 
house-drain if the latter discharges into a cesspool; 
and it is quite important to ascertain that no rain- 
water pipe, terminating perhaps near upper bedroom 
windows, acts as a ventilator to any foul drain. 

In all country houses, unless they discharge their 
sewage into a system of sewers, into a large river, or 
into the sea, the rainfall must be kept entirely separate 
from the sewage. That portion of the rain falling 
directly on the ground surrounding the house should 
be diverted by proper grading so as to protect the 
foundation-walls. Surface grading is especially neces- 
sary wherever roofs are left without gutters. Rain- 
water and melted snow from paved yards and areas 
should be removed by surface or underground channels 
discharging at a distance from the dwelling, where the 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 115 

water may safely be left to be absorbed by vegetation, 
or where it may soak away into the soil. Unpaved 
yards and walks absorb water where the soil is 
loose and porous; but, in the case of impervious 
clay soils, properly graded gutters should be con- 
structed to keep the walks dry and in a good con- 
dition. 

The preceding sections refer in particular to houses 
already built, for sale or to rent, for permanent or 
transient occupancy. It is hardly necessary to state 
that the same rules ought to be followed in the case of 
dwellings which it is proposed to erect. 

In the sanitary inspection of houses located in the 
suburbs or in the country, the following question blank 
prepared by me will be found useful. 

Sanitary Inspection of Country Houses 

No. of Report Date 

Name of Owner 

Name of Tenant 

Location and site 

Size .of lot Area of lot 

Area covered by house 

Number of families 

Does the house stand on elevated ground? 

On hillside? 

In valley or ravine? 

On level ground? 

Are there in the neighborhood any swamps or marshes? 

Is there in the neighborhood any stagnant pool of water of any 
kind? 

Sewage farm? 

Cemetery? 

Are there any offensive trades near by? 

Are there shade- trees around the house? 

How close do they stand? 

Is there lack of sunshine in rooms owing to closeness of trees? 



116 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Soil: 

Is the soil dry and porous, sandy or gravelly? 

Alluvial? 

Clay? 

Rock? 

Is it filled ground? 

Does the ground contain springs? 

Are there any abandoned cesspools? 

Street: 

Is the street paved? 

Is it kept clean? . 

What kind of pavement? 

Condition of street gutters? 

Does water run freely? 

Surroundings: 

Is there a yard to the house? is it paved? 

planked? 

Are the lawns and walks kept clean? 

Are the surfaces well-graded and drained? 

Is there any accumulation of kitchen offal? 

Are there any manure heaps? 

Are there any pools of stagnant slopwater? 

Stable. 

Pig-pen. 

Hen-coops. 

Barn. 

House: 

Construction? stone? brick? frame? 

When built? 

Is there a cellar under the house? 

If no cellar, is house well raised above ground? 

What is the condition of spaces under piazzas? 

Is there any rotten vegetation? 

Is the cellar well lighted? . 

Well ventilated? 

What is the cellar floor? earth? 

Concrete? brick? 

Is it dry? 

Are there any rat runs? 

Is cellar used for the storage of vegetables? 

How many steps is the ground floor above general grade? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 117 

Number of floors? Number of rooms? 

Construction and material of roof? 

Flat? hipped? 

Slate? shingle? tile?. 

What is the condition of the roof? 

Are there gutters and leaders? 

Are the bedrooms on the sunny side of the house? 

Is the attic plastered? 

Are there double windows for winter use? 

If so, are the outer windows arranged for admission of 

air? 

Heating-apparatus : 

What system of heating?. . . .stoves?. . . .how many? 

Are they jacketed? 

Baltimore or fireplace heaters? 

Furnace? make? size? material? 

Is the furnace large enough to heat entire house? 

Are all joints of furnace tight? 

Has the furnace a cold-air box? 

Material? size? 

Where is the inlet to cold-air box located? 

Is there more than one inlet? 

Is inlet protected by wire-netting against entrance of 

cats, rats? 

Can the cold-air box be cleaned? 

Are there arrangements for filtering the dust? 

Is there provision for evaporation of water? 

Steam, direct, direct-indirect, indirect? 

Are steam-boilers inspected? 

Is the hall heated? 

Is there a supply of fresh air to all parts of house? 

Where are the registers located? size? 

In wall? 

In floor? 

Is the staircase ventilated? 

At what temperature is the air of living rooms kept in 

winter? 

At what temperature is the air of bedrooms usually kept? 

Are bathrooms heated? 

Is the hall heated? 

How are the toilet and bath-rooms ventilated? 



118 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Plumbing Work: 

Is there a plan of the drainage and plumbing work? 

Is the house connected with a sewer? 

What is the size of the main drain? 

Material? 

FaU? 

Condition of joints? 

Where does it run to? 

Is it below or above cellar floor? ; 

Are there inspection holes? 

Soil-pipes, how many? Location? 

Material? 

Size? 

Joints? 

Waste-pipes, how many? 

Material? 

Size? 

Joints? 

Are vertical stacks straight or have they offsets? 

If so, how are offsets made? 

Are all lines extended full size through the roof? 

Is there a main trap? 

Location? Size? 

Is there a fresh-air inlet? 

How protected against obstructions? 

Is the plumbing exposed to view, or at least readily 

accessible? 

How many plumbing fixtures? 

Are they placed in vertical groups? 

How many bath-rooms? 

How many toilet-rooms? 

Are there stationary washbasins in the bedrooms? 

How many? 

Are all plumbing fixtures trapped separately? 

If, so, state size of trap? 

Material? 

Kind? Cleanout screws? 

Are traps vented, or are they non-siphoning? 

Are any fixtures disconnected? 

Where do they discharge? 

Kitchen? 

Grease-trap for kitchens? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 119 

Plumbing Work: 

Laundry? 

Scullery? 

Pantry? 

Number of fixtures on each floor? 

Note type, make, and material of fixtures? 

Do fixtures stand free or are they encased in woodwork? . . 

Have the fixtures overflow pipes? How arranged? .... 

Refrigerator?. . . .Is waste disconnected?. . . .Does it waste 

to dry well outdoors? 

Is flush of water-closets and slop-sinks efficient? 

Are there any fixtures disconnected or cut off and not used? 
Refrigerator wastes, boiler blow-offs, safe wastes, fountain 

wastes, tank overflow 

(For a detailed inquiry regarding the Plumbing follow the 
Schedule for City Houses.) 

Lighting: 

How is the house lighted? 

Electric lighting? 

City gas? 

Gas from gas-machine? 

Lighted by acetylene-gas apparatus? 

Kerosene-lamps? 

Candles? 

Are gas-pipes tight? 

Are there any gas leaks at fixtures? 

Is gas-meter properly located? 

What burners are used? 

Do the gas-cocks have stop-pins? 

Sources of the Water-supply: 

Well? Depth? Size? 

Driven well? 

Dug well? 

Form of bricking or steining? 

Is surface around well kept clean and well graded? 

Are no drains near well? 

How is water pumped? 

Form of pump? 

Is the well protected against surface drainage 

How near a privy? a cesspool 



120 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Sources of the Water-supply, continued: 

Spring? 

Location? Protection? 

Any danger of pollution? 

Rain-water cistern? 

Location? 

Material? Size? 

Material of roof covering? .... Is roof kept clean? . . Gutters? 

Is there a rain-water cut-off on the leaders? 

Is the cistern ventilated? 

Where does the overflow-pipe run to? 

Is the cistern water-tight? , 

Pond or lake? 

Filter? 

Any sources of contamination? 

River? 

Examine for sources of pollution upstream 

Are there manured fields draining to the stream? 

Does any sewage or drain run into river? 

Is the pump intake located near the centre of stream or in the 

current? 

Public Supply: 

Reservoir? 

Construction? Cleanliness? 

Is there any vegetable growth or scum? 

Is it protected from decaying matter? 

Mode of supply? 

Gravity? Pumping? 

Is there a filtration plant? 

Is there any bad taste or odor in water? 

Has the water-supply been analyzed? 

Result of chemical analysis? 

Result of bacteriological analysis? 

Material of service pipes? 

Iron? Lead? 

Tinned brass? . 

Tin-lined lead pipe? 

Block-tin pipe? . . 

Are all water-closets in house flushed from cisterns? 

Is there an inside storage-tank for water? 

How is overflow disposed of? 

Is there a general house-filter? What kind and size? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 121 

Arrangements for the Removal and Disposal of Waste Matters: 
Is there a cesspool on premises? 

Location? 

Character and construction? 

Open or leaching? 

Water-tight? 

Has it one or two chambers? 

Size? 

Has it an overflow? 

Is it ventilated? 

How often emptied? . . 

How many feet from the house? 

From well or the cistern? 

Privy? 

Location? 

Distance from the house? 

Construction? 

How often emptied? 

In what condition? 

How often disinfected? 

Earth closet? How arranged? 

Location? 

Is it connected to house by a covered passage? 

Condition? : 

What is the arrangement for depositing the earth? 

Is a pail system used? 

How often are the pails removed? 

How is the slopwater disposed of ? 

Is there a flush-tank and sub-surface irrigation system? 

Size of flush-tank? . 

Has it an automatic siphon? 

Number of feet of absorption tiles? 

Is the sewage disposed of by surface irrigation? 

Is the sewage purified by a septic tank, or contact-filter beds, 

or by both? 

Describe the system briefly 

Garbage Disposal: 

Is there a kitchen range carbonator to cremate and dispose of 
the solid refuse? 

Garbage pail? material? size? 

Where kept? How often emptied? 



122 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

In the following I give three shorter forms of inspec- 
tion blanks, the first being one in use for many years 
by the Sanitary Protection Association of Newport, R. I. ; 
the second being an inspection blank used by the Board 
of Health of Montclair, N. J., while the third one was 
adopted some years ago by Princeton University to 
control the sanitary conditions in houses where students 
board. 



Questions for Sanitary Inspections Prepared by the 

Sanitary Protection Association of Newport, 

Rhode Island. 

1. Are the sanitary surroundings of the house perfect? Do 

the trees and shrubbery permit sufficient exposure of it 
to sun? 

2. Is the water pure and drinkable? If from well or cistern, 

has the water connection with external air? 

3. Is the cellar dry, well ventilated and free from decomposing 

matter, which may give forth seeds of sickness and 
death, and has it a drain? This drain must be wholly 
unconnected with any sewer. 

4. Is the cellar air entirely excluded from the air supply to the 

furnace? 

5. Has every bed-chamber free ventilation and direct means 

of communication with the external air? 

6. If contagious or infectious disease has occurred in the 

house, has the sick chamber, etc. (bedding, wearing 
apparel, curtains, carpets, and upholstered furniture) 
been thoroughly disinfected and the wall-paper re- 
moved? 

7. Has each water-closet means of external ventilation, and 

not into an entry or bed-chamber? 

8. Are the soil-pipes in a sound condition and easily accessible 

for examination? Are they of iron, with lead-calked 
joints? or are they of lead? and if of lead, have they 
been in the house a number of years, and thus perforated 
with holes through which sewer air escapes into the 
house? 

9. Has the soil-pipe a proper vent through the roof? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 123 

10. Is the soil-pipe in its exit through the foundation of the 

house, of iron, or of earthenware? If of the latter, is it 
broken off in or just outside of the foundation, so as to 
allow the sewage matter of the house to find its way 
throughout the foundation? 

11. If there are set bathtubs, basins, or washtubs, are they 

securely trapped? Is the kitchen sink safely trapped? 
It must not be forgotten that the ordinary bell trap does 
not perfectly exclude sewer air, which its water absorbs 
and transmits, and that the S-trap is liable to be siphoned, 
or emptied by inward suction so as to permit the escape 
of gas into the house from the soil-pipe or drain. 

12. Is the waste water-pipe of the refrigerator entirely cut off 

from all connection with the soil-pipe? 

13. Is the cesspool near the foundation wall? Is the cesspool 

a loose one? and is there any overflow or leakage into 
the foundation, cistern, or well? 

14. Is there a direct supply connection for cooking and table 

use, where city water is employed, between the main 
and the kitchen faucet? 

Blank Form for Sanitary Inspection in Use by Board of 
Health of Montclair, N- J. 

Date Inspector Premises 

Description of property 

Owner Occupant 

Number of residents over five years of age .... Under five years . . 

Number of sleeping-rooms Condition Ventilation .... 

Water-supply: 

Source If well, driven or dug 

Depth of well diameter How near any cess- 
pool, privy, manure heap Their relative position as 

regards slope of surface 

Can surface water find its way to the well? 

Is well-water used for drinking purposes? 

If so, how treated before use? 

Sinks, Baths, Basins, Urinals, etc.: 

Clean? 

Properly trapped? Traps unobstructed? 

Do the waste-pipes conform to health ordinance rules? 

Are the traps vented in accordance with rules? '. 



124 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

House-drain: 

Is it in accordance with the regulations? 

Soil and Main Waste-pipes: 

Are they in accordance with the regulations? 

Cellar or Basement: 

Dampness Ventilation 

Light Floor Depth below surface . . . 

Wells Tanks Plumbing fixtures 

Do they conform with the rules and regulations? 

Heating: 

Fresh-air entrance Is it air-tight? 

Sewer: 

Any in street or under construction? 

Are any or all plumbing fixtures connected? 

Is any cesspool or privy in use? 

Water-closet: 

Description and type Location Ventilation . 

Light Cleanliness Does it flush well? . 

What deodorizer or disinfectant used? 

Does the arrangement of water-closet conform to rules? . . 
Yard: 

Cleanliness drainage 

Privy: 

Description Location Ventilation . . . 

Light Cleanliness How emptied? 

What deodorizer or disinfectant used? 

Cesspool: 

Material Size Covering Ventilation . 

Is it water-tight? How emptied? 

Does it conform to the rules? 

Rain-ivater Pipe: 

Where does it lead to? 

House-tank in Attic: 

Location Material Size Cleanliness . 

Source of contamination 

For what purpose is water used? 

If for drinking, how treated before use? 

Stable: 

Relation to dwelling Number of horses .... Cows . . 

Cleanliness Drainage 

Disposition of manure 

Is manure pit covered? Screened? and dry? . 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 125 

Chicken Yard — Pig-pen: 

Relation to dwelling 

Cleanliness Drainage 

Garbage and Other Refuse: 

Are iron or steel receptacles used for the garbage and offal in 

accordance with ordinance? 

Are waste fluids disposed of any other way than by drain? . . 

If so, how? Is there any deposit or accumulation of 

putrescible matter? Are ashes and garbage mixed?. . . 

Disposal of ashes?. ...... .Disposal of the garbage? 

Miscellaneous: 

Character of soil? Any made ground? 

Any cesspool, privy or vaults, etc., abandoned and not filled 

up? If filled, how? 

Have there been any cases of infectious disease since Jan- 
uary 1 What disease? Time of year? . . . 

Remarks 

Record Blank Adopted by Princeton University for 
Recording Conditions on Premises where Students 
Board or Lodge. 

Prepared under the Supervision of the Sanitary Committee of Princeton 
University. 

Number of house Street Date 

Owner's name Address 

Tenant 

Size of lot Has lot been filled in? 

Area of lot Area covered by buildings 

Elevation of house sill above curb Ground- water level 

below curb Number of stories 

House erected Material of construction 

Fire-escape Roof Back dwelling on lot . . . 

Foundation Damp? . Cause of dampness? .... 

Cellar: 

How floored? Under all the house? Outside 

entrance . . . 

Number and size of windows Cellar damp? 

Does the ground- water rise above cellar bottom? 

Is cellar well ventilated? 

House faces Sun exposure 

Number of sleeping rooms 



126 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Heating: 

Has furnace an air-tight fresh-air box? 

Size and length of cold-air box? Location of air-intake? 

Lighting: 

Gas-pipes tested? 

Yard: 

Accumulations in Condition of yard? 

Privy Vault: 

Size ft .... x .... ft. ; distance from privy vault to 

dwelling ft.; distance from vault to well ft.; 

construction of privy vault 

Quantity of accumulation in privy vault 

Date when privy vault was emptied last? 



Size, construction, location, ventilation 

Water-supply: 

Analysis of well-water 

Is water-supply delivered through tank? .... Number of gallons 

Stable How floored? 

Disposal of fluid excreta Storage of solid excreta 

Chickens kept on premises? 

Garbage, how stored? Frequency of removal? . . 

House used for boarders? For other business? 

House used for lodgers? 

Number of inhabitants of house Number of lodgers of 

boarders? 

Is house in good repair? Is house and premises maintained 

in a cleanly and healthful condition? 

Is house connected with the public sewer? 

Material and size of main house-drain?. . . .Trap on main drain? 

Inlet on house-drain for fresh air? 

Number and location of drainage fixtures 

Are all fixtures trapped? Are all traps protected against 

siphonage? 

Water-closets, style of? how flushed? condition of 

water-closets? 

Window in water-closet apartment? 

Has house-drain been tested for leakage? By what meth- 
ods? Date? Result? 

Diseases reported, with dates 

Deaths, with dates and causes of death? 

Supplementary notes 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 127 

The foregoing inspection questions refer principally 
to country houses, owned or rented by persons of com- 
fortable means, who prefer living in the country or in 
the suburbs of cities, while doing business in the city. 

Much has been said and clone in recent years to 
improve the sanitary condition of the smaller farm 
houses.* In a book with the title "The Healthful 
Farm-House," by a farmer's wife (Helen Dodd, au- 
thoress), the subject is discussed in a series of chapters, 
composed each of questions relating to the kitchen, 
the cellar, the dining-room, living-room, bedrooms, 
bath-room, and the shed, and those who wish to follow 
up the subject further, are advised to look up this book. 

* See Farmers' Bulletin No. 270, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 
by Elmina T. Wilson, "Modern Conveniences for the Farm 
Home," 1906. See also Wm. Paul Gerhard. " The Sanitation, 
Water-supply, and Sewage Disposal of Country Houses," D. Van 
Nostrand Co., 1909; and "Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture on 
Farm Architecture," by Elmina T. Wilson, U. S. Dept. of 
Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 1907. 



128 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



Summer Boarding-houses and Summer Resorts 

Much of what has been said in the preceding pages 
applies to boarding-houses and summer hotels at the 
seaside or in the mountains ; but in these the danger of 
infection from unsanitary conditions of drainage and 
water-supply is multiplied, because of the large num- 
ber of people who seek pleasure or rest, and who are 
crowded together in a small space, and also because 
such hotels are fitted up more liberally with what are 
called "modern conveniences." It is true that at sum- 
mer resorts the evil influences of a polluted water-supply 
or contaminated air ma}' become to some extent 
counteracted by the outdoor exercise, by the greater 
number of hours spent in the fresh air, at the beach, 
on the water, or in the woods, and by the temporary 
abandonment of business thoughts and cares. But 
this should not be a valid reason for relaxing the watch- 
fulness against unhealthful influences; for neither sea- 
air nor exhilarating mountain breezes possess the 
power to counteract completely the injurious effects 
of drain or cesspool air, breathed in the shut-up 
rooms at night. One frequently encounters instances 
where some illness, contracted at such places, breaks 
out only after the return to the city house and to 
business. 

All large hotels and boarding-houses should be 
annually re-inspected, and their drainage and water- 
supply appliances put in a proper sanitary condition. 
The purity of the sources of drinking-water, in par- 
ticular, should be guarded with the greatest care, and 
the arrangements for the disposal of the sewage should 
be made as perfect as may be attainable. Then, and 
only then, will the healthful and invigorating influences 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 129 

of summer days spent in the country be of lasting 
benefit to those who leave their comfortable city 
homes in order to benefit their health. 

Sanitary Inspection of Public Buildings 

Public buildings embrace all structures holding 
either for a few hours or continuously, a congregation 
of people, for business, political, civic, educational, 
religious, entertainment, or sanitary purposes. 

How can public buildings be classified? 

The first classification, the one usually made by 
architects and builders, is according to the purposes or 
objects of the building. 

We have accordingly, buildings for commerce, trade, 
and business, for manufacturing; for agricultural pur- 
poses; for traffic, transportation, and intercommunica- 
tion, for educational and for scientific purposes; for 
amusement; for art and exhibition purposes; for wor- 
ship and ecclesiastical purposes; for police and fire pro- 
tection; for military purposes; for the care of the sick, 
injured, demented, deaf, mute, blind; for orphans, and 
old people; for the administration of justice; for mu- 
nicipal and State government purposes; for bathing 
and washing purposes; for the engineering works of a 
city (water-works, sewage, and garbage disposal); for 
the sale and purchase of provisions ; for the preparation 
of the food (slaughter-houses.) 

A second classification is by the location of the buildings 
with reference to the city plan. City architects, city 
engineers, and sociologists interested in city improve- 
ment plans usually follow this classification. 

We may distinguish: A. Buildings, which are busi- 
ness centres and which concentrate or centralize street 
traffic, for instance, city halls, court-houses, parliament 



130 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

houses, capitols, exchanges, post-offices, custom-houses, 
telegraph headquarters, railroad stations, ferry houses, 
steamer docks, hotels, libraries, large department stores, 
and fire and police headquarters. 

We have next, B. Buildings which distribute or decen- 
tralize street traffic, such as churches, synagogues, chapels 
cathedrals, school-houses, colleges, universities, theatres, 
concert and lecture halls, club houses, art museums, 
public bath-houses, markets, small retail stores, sub- 
police stations, sub-stations of post offices. 

Finally we have, C. Buildings, which should be con- 
fined to outlying sections of a city, such as military 
barracks, military posts, hospitals, asylums, sanatoria, 
public institutions, soldiers' homes, jails, prisons, peni- 
tentiaries, reformatories, slaughter-houses, and the 
buildings for the city water and gas works, for sewage 
treatment, garbage disposal and disinfection, large 
factories, power stations, large commercial steam 
laundries, and other industrial buildings. 

A third classification, and the one which is of the 
greatest use to the practical sanitarian and the sanitary 
inspector, is one according to the length of time in which 
the buildings are occupied. We distinguish, first, public 
buildings occupied by a permanent large population, 
both in day time and during the night, such as the hos- 
pitals, orphan asylums, homes for aged people, institu- 
tions of all kinds, prisons, jails, military barracks, and 
hotels. These are, perhaps, from a sanitary point of 
view, the most important ones, and all health measures 
must in them be very strict and complete. 

We have, second, public buildings which have large 
gatherings only during the day time, such as school- 
houses, court-houses, manufacturing buildings and 
factories, department stores, bank buildings, museums 
and libraries. For these buildings sanitation is not less 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 131 

important, but the requirements are not so rigorous 
nor so difficult to follow as in buildings of group (1). 

We have, thirdly, public buildings occupied by large 
congregations for a few hours only, either in day time or 
in the evening hours, such as the churches, and theatres, 
concert halls, lecture rooms, armories, convention 
halls, etc. In these buildings ventilation is, perhaps, 
the most important sanitary requirement. 

Finally, we have some buildings not readily classified, 
but important from a health point of view, like bath- 
houses, bakeries, markets, and abattoirs. 

It is out of the question to discuss the features in- 
volved in the sanitary inspection of all the buildings 
mentioned. I shall, therefore, select some representa- 
tive types, viz., hospitals, school-houses, churches, 
theatres, bath-houses, markets, and abattoirs. 

The chief points to be inquired into when making 
sanitary inspections of public buildings are the fol- 
lowing : — 

1. The location, soil, site, and surroundings 

2. The grouping of the buildings, 

3. The drainage, 

4. Sewerage and sewage disposal; 

5. The water-supply for domestic use and for fire 

protection ; 

6. The plumbing; the bath and toilet-rooms; 

7. The natural and artificial lighting; 

8. The warming and ventilation ; 

9. The safety from fire ; 

10. Details relating to planning and to construction; 

11. The maintenance of cleanliness,' and 

12. The removal of waste food, garbage, and refuse. 



132 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



Location, Soil, Site and Surroundings 

Hospitals. — My long entertained and firm conviction 
that large hospitals should not be located in the crowded 
sections of cities has been strengthened by what I saw 
and learned during a recent trip in Europe. Large 
hospitals should be relegated and built at the periphery 
of a city. This location offers numerous advantages, 
such as the following: Land is not so expensive, and 
hence one is enabled to obtain a much larger area of 
ground; this again permits of spreading out the build- 
ings and doing away with five and six-story buildings, 
as we find them built in our largest cities. A hospital 
situated in the suburbs will have better air, better 
surroundings, and for the patients there will be better 
opportunity for resting, and the quietness of the place 
will also benefit both the physicians and the nurses. 
Suburban hospitals should always be built on the 
pavilion plan, i.e., with one or two-story structures. 
The large cities will need small reception hospitals, 
largely for cases of accident or injury, which hospitals 
may be built on the corridor or closed type of plan. 
The difficulties of the transportation of the sick to the 
suburban hospitals will not be found unsurmountable; 
ihe transportation can be effected by means of special 
hospital trolley cars, or with automobile ambulances. 

Between four and five hundred patients' beds are 
generally considered to be the desirable limit for the 
size of a hospital. In Europe, however, I found that 
some of the recent and most up-to-date hospitals con- 
tained 1000, 1500, and even 2000 beds. A large area 
of ground, from 1000 to 1500 sq. ft. per bed, is always 
provided, and affords an opportunity for the arrange- 
ment and planning of parkways, lawns, terraces, flower 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 133 

beds, walks, fountains, etc., which adds much to the 
attractive appearance of the group of buildings. 

School-houses. — These should be located on quiet side 
streets, away from traffic and noise. The site should 
be elevated, open, airy, and dry. The size of the school 
lot should be sufficient to permit of the placing of the 
building a certain distance back from the street, and 
also to provide large playgrounds or school yards. An 
average-sized lot should provide 30 sq. ft. per pupil. 

In selecting a location for a school-house, noisy sur- 
roundings and noxious trades, railroad depots and 
freight terminals, factories, stables, hotels, markets, 
police stations, and fire-engine houses should be avoided, 
as all of these have a disturbing influence. In large 
cities one should also avoid the neighborhood of high 
buildings, of noisy pavements, and of filthy neighbor- 
hoods; in the country, swamps, stagnant ponds, and 
low places. 

Theatres should be located at central points of traffic. 
An open lot is desirable for the location of a theatre for 
the sake of safety, but is not often attainable here, 
where theatre buildings are private enterprises, owing 
to the costliness of the site. Abroad, where many 
theatres are subsidized by the municipality or by the 
government, they are usually located on open squares. 
This provides opportunity for plenty of exits in case 
of fire, and incidentally enables the architect to design 
a better looking building. 

Churches should be located centrally and convenient 
of access, and if possible, at prominent street corners. 
In Europe large churches and the cathedrals are always 
placed on open squares, or at street intersections, which 
is certainly a most desirable location. The size of the 
lot should be ample to meet all requirements of the 
congregation. An open space means, first, a better 



134 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

architectural appearance of the edifice, and second, it 
secures better light and air. 

Markets for the wholesale trade of provisions should 
be located near the harbor and docks, convenient to 
the railways and to the connecting highways, in order 
to be easily accessible for the handling of farm products. 
Retail markets, on the other hand, should be in the 
centres of populated city districts so as to be accessible 
for the general public. 

Abattoirs should be placed on the outskirts of cities, 
and below the city, if this is located on a river. They 
should never be located near any residential districts. 
The principal points governing the selection are the 
traffic connections, the drainage, and the water-supply. 
A large area of ground is required for the numerous 
buildings, composing an abattoir, and there should be 
sufficient facilities for the transportation of the cattle 
and of the butchered meat. 

Sanitary Requirements of Hospitals — The Grouping of 
the Buildings. — The chief sanitary requirements of hos- 
pitals are admission of plenty of fresh air and light, and 
maintenance of minute cleanliness within and without 
the buildings. We may distinguish two types of hos- 
pitals: (1) The older or closed type, sometimes called 
block or corridor system, where the different wards are 
located along, or connected by, corridors. (2) The 
newer type, or 'pavilion type, also called the barrack 
type (for temporary structures), which decentralizes 
the patients, and permits a better separation and a 
better and more scientific classification of the various 
diseases. It consists largely of one-story buildings. 
Since hospitals are always composed of a number of 
buildings the best way of grouping them requires a 
great deal of study and experience. 

The buildings which compose an abattoir are the 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 135 

sheds, pens, and stables for the cattle, the separate 
slaughter-houses for cattle and calves, for sheep and 
for pigs, the cold-storage buildings, the buildings for 
diseased and suspected animals, the administration 
building, power-house, the offices for the meat-inspec- 
tion service, buildings for the cleaning of the entrails 
and for the commercial utilization of the offal. 

In making sanitary inspections of public buildings a 
good way to begin is to note carefully the existing 
conditions regarding location and site, soil, and sur- 
roundings. All of what has been said heretofore re- 
garding these points for city and country houses, ap- 
plies, of course, in the case of public buildings, and in 
addition those points mentioned in the above para- 
graphs should be taken into consideration. 

Drainage 

Drainage, as distinguished from sewerage, means the 
removal of the surplus moisture from the soil and also 
the removal of surface-water. Sewerage, on the other 
hand, signifies the removal of the water which has 
been introduced into the buildings and which must be 
removed after use. 

Hospital buildings require artificial drainage where 
the ground is damp, wet, or springy. To accomplish it, 
the use of open-jointed, small-sized agricultural drain- 
tiles is recommended, and these drains should never 
connect with the sewer of any building. They can be 
discharged into open ditches, or into the nearest water 
course. Sewers for foul water should never be used 
for drains, and vice versa. 

Theatres often have the under-stage placed so deep 
that it comes below the level of the street sewer, and in 
order to keep the sub-basement dry, the subsoil water 



136 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

must be removed by some method of pumping, either 
automatically or otherwise. 

In churches where the basements are used for Sunday- 
school rooms or trustees' meetings, sociables, etc., some 
attention should be paid to the drainage of the base- 
ment. One should always avoid dark, musty places 
which are necessarily unhealthy, even for temporary 
occupancy. 

For school-buildings very much the same require- 
ments apply as given for churches. The play-rooms 
are often placed in the basement of the school-house, 
and it is inadvisable to put children into basements 
which are damp and otherwise unhealthy. 

In markets and abattoirs located where the soil and 
the site are not naturally dry, drainage should be pro- 
vided so that there will be no stagnant pools of surface- 
water anywhere. 

Sewerage and Sewage Disposal 

City hospitals can in nearly all cases be connected to 
a city sewer. There should be, however, some pro- 
vision made for the disinfection of the liquid wastes 
from infectious diseases. In Europe I found in some 
cases that the entire sewage from a hospital was sub- 
jected to disinfection before it was discharged into the 
city sewer; in other cases only the wastes from pavilions 
for infectious diseases were so treated. 

In the case of hospitals located beyond the city limits, 
we cannot usually make connections with a city sewer, 
as this would involve the carrying of a long line of 
sewer : therefore, such hospitals must often devise their 
own independent sewerage plant. In planning for it, 
the topography of the grounds will decide whether 
the sewage has to be pumped or can be disposed of by 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 137 

gravity. The separate system of sewerage, which ex- 
cludes the rainfall, is the one generally to be used. 
This involves the laying of smaller pipe-sewers; it has 
other advantages, for instance, where the sewage has 
to be pumped the volume to be dealt with is less and 
more uniform; where the sewage has to be chemically 
treated the volume remains more constant and is not 
so large. With six or eight-inch pipe sewers we can 
dispose of the sewage from the largest buildings in a 
satisfactory manner. The alignment should be as 
straight as possible and the grade sufficient to prevent 
deposits. Manholes and flushing appliances should be 
provided. 

It is rarely the case that the sewage from hospitals 
can be delivered in its crude state into a stream or 
water-course. In some States the laws very properly 
prohibit such a discharge. We must, therefore, purify 
the sewage to a greater or lesser extent before it can 
be so discharged. 

All ordinary systems of merely straining or subsi- 
dence in sewage-tanks will not give satisfaction in the 
long run; they are imperfect and effect some clarifica- 
tion only, but do not purify. Years ago the chemical 
treatment of the sewage was advised, but it was found 
to be expensive in the cost of the chemicals used, in 
the manipulation and in management, and it did not 
always give the best results. One of the best systems 
to-day is the one advocated twenty-five or thirty years 
ago, viz., land treatment of sewage, either by irriga- 
tion or by intermittent sewage filtration. Where the 
sewage is not too large in quantity, the sub-surface 
irrigation system gives good results. There must be a 
sufficient disposal area for the suitable purification of 
the sewage. Within the last few years, several new 
systems, called the biological treatment of sewage, have 



138 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

come up, which are interesting, and promise good re- 
sults. They comprise purification by septic tank treat- 
ment; sewage treatment in contact filter-beds, and in 
percolating filters. 

The septic tank is, practically, a scientifically con- 
structed cesspool, which is usually, though not always, 
covered over to exclude the light and air. In such 
septic tanks the sewage is acted upon by the anaerobic 
bacteria, which thrive in darkness, away from air, and 
the action is such that portions of the sewage are 
liquefied, but the resulting effluent is rarely so purified 
that it could be delivered into a water-course. Further 
purification is therefore required. This can be accom- 
plished by the other biological methods. 

Sewage contact filter-beds are large beds filled with 
broken stone from three to five deep. The sewage is 
delivered onto such tanks and allowed to stand for 
several hours; during this time some purification takes 
place. When the proper time has elapsed, the sewage 
is discharged, being then in such condition that it can 
be emptied into any water-course. 

The other treatment is by means of trickling or per- 
colating filters, which are filters of coke or broken stone, 
from seven to ten feet deep, well aerated and well 
drained ; onto these sewage is discharged intermittently. 
The degree of purification is not as high as in the case 
of double contact-beds. 

All systems of sewage purification require careful 
management and constant attention, and it is well to 
bear in mind that no sewage disposal system, no mat- 
ter how carefully planned and arranged, can take care 
of itself in the long run. Hence it is my practice to 
advise the use of a minimum amount of automatic 
appliances. 

City school-houses are usually connected with the city 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 139 

sewers, whereas country schools require some kind of 
disposal system. The ordinary cesspools and dry- 
vaults are objectionable and should be done away with. 
For country schools there are only two methods, viz. 
(1) earth-closets for small schools; (2) water-carriage 
system for the larger schools. 

Abattoirs require some purification of the waste- 
water, but in this country the cases are rare where 
this is done. In Europe we find many municipal 
abattoirs in which some system, generally a chemical 
precipitation system, is used for the purification of 
the waste-water mixed with the blood from the 
slaughtered animals. 

Water-supply 

Water-supply is very closely allied to sewerage, in 
fact one cannot be successful without the other. It 
would be a mistake, from a sanitary point of view, to 
introduce water-supply into buildings without pro- 
viding at the same time adequate sewerage facilities, 
but on the other hand, plumbing and house-drainage 
appliances cannot be operated successfully without an 
ample water-supply. 

City hospitals require large water mains because more 
water is used in hospitals than in other buildings, also 
for the sake of the desirable fire protection. Where 
hospitals are located beyond the city limits, it is usu- 
ally necessary to provide an independent water-supply. 
In planning for it the chief considerations are : 

First, the determination of the quantity to be pro- 
vided. We must provide very generously, for some 
hospitals use one hundred and fifty gallons per capita 
per diem, and where this water has to be pumped, it 
means a large expense. One should, however, always 



140 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

endeavor to check the waste and to restrict the con- 
sumption. 

Water may be obtained from springs or from wells. 
These may be shallow or deep wells, but the shallow 
wells should not be used unless the search for better 
sources of supply fails. Other sources of supply are 
surface-water from water-sheds, from lakes, rivers and 
brooks, and finally, the rain-water. 

The second point of importance is the quality, which 
should always be ascertained before deciding upon a 
source of supply, by chemical and bacteriological 
examinations. 

Third, we should provide an abundance of water 
pressure for fire-protection purposes. We obtain this 
pressure, except in the case of the gravity supplies, 
when the source is at a high elevation, by pumping 
water into elevated tanks, stand-pipes, or into pressure- 
tanks. In providing a pumping system, one should 
always arrange it in duplicate to provide against the 
breakdown of the machinery. 

In hospitals and in other public buildings the ques- 
tion of drinking-water is of importance. While we can 
purify the water generally by mechanical filters, it is 
always wise to have a special apparatus, such as the 
Chamberland-Pasteur or the Berkefeld filter for the 
drinking-water. These appliances filter slowly, but they 
give a water which is germ-free for from three to seven 
days. After this period they should be thoroughly 
cleaned out. All filters, however, should be washed 
and sterilized from time to time to accomplish good 
results. 

Theatres require water (1) for domestic use; (2) for 
drinking purposes for the audience, and (3) for fire 
protection, which in the theatre buildings involves the 
installation of a very elaborate system. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 141 

Church buildings too, require a water-supply, espe- 
pecially the Baptist churches, which require water for 
the immersion pools used for baptizing. In others it is 
necessary to have water to operate the organ. 

With regard to the drinking-water supply for schools, 
I would point out that anything in the shape of buckets, 
with glasses, cups, or other devices, is unsanitary. The 
new "hygienic fountains," at which the children can 
drink the water without even touching the fountain, 
form an almost ideal arrangement. 

Abattoirs require enormous quantities of water, and 
being located on the outskirts of a city, must usually 
provide an independent supply. The buildings are 
largely one-story structures and hence do not require a 
high pressure. It is necessary, in the case of slaughter- 
houses, to have hot water for washing the sinks and 
floors, and this is readily provided, as there is almost 
always a boiler-house, in which steam is available. 

Plumbing 

Hospitals require a great deal of the usual plumbing, and 
in addition some special plumbing fixtures. The plumb- 
ing should be as simple, direct, compact, and plain as 
possible, and nickel-plated plumbing should be avoided. 

The plumbing in the pavilion or ward buildings 
should be cut off from the wards. All parts of the 
plumbing should remain exposed to view. No vent- 
pipes should be allowed to pass through the wards. If 
there is any building in which ornamental plumbing is 
out of place it is a hospital. 

Theatres and churches have a larger amount of plumb- 
ing than most people would expect, and in both kinds 
of buildings some very unsanitary conditions have often 
been discovered. 



142 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

School toilet-rooms may be placed in the basement or 
else outside in specially constructed out-buildings. Both 
types can be properly arranged, but my preference is 
for basement toilet-rooms in schools, provided these 
rooms are properly and sufficiently ventilated; that is, 
in such a way that there will always be a draft of air 
from the halls into the toilet-room and thence out 
through the vent-flue, and provided, furthermore, that 
single or individual closet-bowls or fixtures are used, 
and not the automatic flushing water-closet ranges, 
which I hold should be used only in outside toilet 
pavilions, but never in the basement of a school-house. 

I advocate the placing of the plumbing in the base- 
ment for the reason that it is much easier to take care 
of, and that in this position it is better protected 
from freezing. In large schools there may be a few 
toilet-rooms on the upper floors for the teachers, but I 
find that in general, it is much more desirable to put 
these also in the basement, so that there may be a 
supervision of these rooms by the teachers, for in many 
cases the janitor's supervision is lamentably insufficient. 
In very large schools it may be necessary to provide 
toilet-rooms on every floor. They should be planned 
to be placed in a wing of the building. Dry-closets, on 
the "Smead system," should in my opinion never be 
permitted in a school-house. 

The care of the school plumbing devolves upon the 
school janitor, bat it is my experience that it would 
be better if the school principals and the health officers 
of the school district would look after it. 

Markets and abattoirs should have plain plumbing, 
which, however, should be extra strong. These build- 
ings require numerous sinks and troughs, urinals, water- 
closets, and also a few shower or spray-baths. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 143 



Toilet and Bath-rooms 

In hospitals the toilet and bath-rooms must be located 
convenient to the wards. I recommend that the toilet- 
rooms should not contain the lavatories. These should 
be placed in separate rooms. The toilet-rooms require 
abundant ventilation and should have floors and walls 
finished in non-absorbent and readily washable mate- 
rials, such as tiling. 

As to the fixtures, avoid those having sharp corners 
and use only the plain white earthenware, without any 
embossing or decoration. For insane hospitals the 
plumbing should be extra or double strong; the toilet- 
rooms should have no partitions and no doors for the 
individual seats. The flushing should be accomplished 
automatically, or else combination pull and automatic 
tanks should be used. 

As to the bathing appliances, there should be one 
fixed tub and another tub placed on wheels, the former 
being located in the centre of the room, so that the 
attendant may pass all around the patient. In insane 
hospitals, the bathing formerly accomplished by means 
of tubs, led to many abuses and some danger, so that 
it was found preferable to dispense with the tub. In 
New York State, for instance, it was found advisable to 
abolish the tub entirely and to use only the spray-bath.* 
There is another class of bathing appliance, called 
"permanent water-baths," in which the patient is 
placed on a frame and allowed to remain in the tub 
for weeks or even months. Very few of these have 
been installed in this country, but I have seen a large 



♦See Gerhard, "Modern Baths and Bath Houses," 1908. 
John Wiley & Sons. 



144 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

number in the European hospitals. European hos- 
pitals also make provision for large central bath-houses, 
in which medical baths of all kinds are administered 
and where massage treatment is also given, usually in 
connection with a mechano-therapeutic installation. 

A class of public buildings in which plumbing and 
bath-rooms form the most important feature of interior 
equipment and construction are the bath-houses. Large 
public bath-houses of European cities contain all 
kinds of baths, including steam and hot-air baths, 
electric-light baths, and some have even baths for 
dogs. The sanitarian who watches over the health of 
a city is more especially interested in the so-called 
people's bath-houses, in which the admission fee charged 
is very low or which are altogether free to the public. 
For such bath-houses the rain or spray-baths are emi- 
nently well adapted, and are used in the majority of 
cases, though a few tub baths are also provided for 
women, young children, and for invalids. 

The State of New York passed a law some years ago 
making the building of a sufficient number of such bath- 
houses in the crowded districts of cities mandatory upon 
all cities having a population of 50,000 inhabitants or 
over. Quite recently a movement for the revival of 
swimming pools has sprung up, and a combination of 
spray-baths with swimming basins or pools is important 
and desirable for cities located on rivers, as for instance, 
New York City, where the floating river baths are 
becoming impracticable, owing to the pollution of the 
rivers with sewage and manufacturing wastes. These 
combination baths are also desirable for those inland 
cities which lack swimming facilities altogether. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 145 



Plumbing Inspection 

In examining the plumbing work of public buildings 
make sure of the following points, viz. : 

(1) That the drainage system removes from the 
building quickly and completely all the liquid wastes 
without contaminating either the soil, the air, or the 
water. 

(2) That all outlets in the building are safely trapped 
so that there can be no escape of sewer air. 

(3) That the pipe system is free from any dead ends, 
where air might stagnate, and that it is freely open to 
the roof. 

A sanitary inspection should always include the test- 
ing of the drains and of the plumbing. This is accom- 
plished by either the oil of peppermint test or by the 
smoke test by means of a smoke-blowing machine or of 
smoke rockets. The chief details which should be 
looked after in the inspection of the plumbing refer to 
the following: 

(a) The material of the pipes, fixtures, and traps; 

(6) The pipe- joints and the mode of setting and con- 
necting the fixtures; 

(c) The alignment and grade of the pipes, whether 
for waste, vent, or supply; 

(d) The pipe junctions and the pipe supports; 

(e) The layout of the piping; the sizes or diameters of 
pipes; 

if) The method of trapping the fixtures; 

(g) The ventilation of the piping; 

(h) The flushing of the fixtures, traps, waste-pipes, 
and drains; 

(i) The accessibility of all parts of the supply and 
waste system; 



146 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

(/) The absence of stoppages in the lines; 

(k) The noiseless operation of the fixtures, as well as 
of the piping, faucets, valves, ball-cocks, etc. ; 

(I) The exposure of any part of the plumbing to 
freezing; 

(m) The avoidance of waste of water; 

(n) The absence of complicated mechanical apparatus, 
liable to get out of order and to cause expensive and 
troublesome repairs; 

(o) The simplicity of the entire arrangement and the 
avoidance of all unnecessary complication. 

The discovery of the presence of rats in older buildings 
is often a sure indication that something is wrong with 
the underground drains. In the inspection, look for 
floor-drains or so-called gullies in dark parts of cellars. 
They are usually admitting sewer air, because the 
water-seal of the trap has become evaporated owing 
to disuse. Always try to ascertain whether there are 
many sharp bends or angles in the vent-pipes, for 
these impede ventilation owing to friction. Make sure 
that food supplies in hospitals and markets are stored 
in places free from any air pollution. 



Lighting, Natural and Artificial 

In hospital wards plenty of windows are provided, but 
these are put in as much, or more so, for the airing of 
the ward as for lighting purposes. In the wards a 
subdued light is preferable and is obtained by the use 
of shades or of blinds. Of the available artificial lights 
electric lighting is by far the best. In the wards only 
dim lighting is necessary, but in other parts of the 
hospital, and particularly so in the operating-rooms, a 
very strong light is required. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 147 

The proper lighting of the theatre, and particularly 
of the stage, is a very complex problem. All new 
theatres have electric lighting, and this was considered 
to be much the safest from the point of view of fire, 
until recent statistics of theatre fires made it seem at 
least doubtful whether electric lighting was in reality 
safer than other modes of lighting. About one point, 
however, there can be do doubt, i.e., that the installa- 
tion of electric lights has helped in solving the problem 
of the ventilation of the theatre auditorium. 

The day lighting of school-rooms is a very important 
question, for in the inspection of school buildings we 
find a great many school-rooms which have the light 
falling in from the wrong side. Which is the proper 
position for the windows of a classroom? If the 
windows are put in the back of the room, making the 
light fall over the pupils' shoulders from the rear, then 
the teacher has to face the light. If, on the other 
hand, the windows are put in front it is very bad for 
the children's eyes. There is really but one correct 
position, and that is, the light should fall from the 
left side of the pupil. The windows should reach high 
up, nearly to the ceiling. 

I want to call attention to the importance of having 
in a school all stairs and halls perfectly lighted, so that 
they can be used safely at all times. There should be 
daylight illumination, and also provision for artificial 
lighting on dark clays, by either gas or electric 
light. 

For dark afternoons the classrooms require either gas 
lighting or incandescent electric lighting. For classes 
in drawing the indirect reflected light is considered to 
be the best. Where gas is used, preference should be 
given to the Welsbach incandescent and the inverted 
mantle burners. 



148 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Market halls must be lighted not only at night but 
in the early morning hours in winter time, and the 
electric arc light, in its various improved forms, is the 
one best adapted for the purpose. 

Slaughter-houses are often located out of reach of the 
gas or the electric light works, and hence require to be 
fitted up with an independent lighting plant, which 
may be either an acetylene lighting, a gasoline, or air 
gas plant, or finally, an individual electric lighting 
plant with dynamos and electric wiring and lamps. 



Warming and Ventilation 

The subject of warming and ventilation is of the 
greatest importance in the case of the buildings under 
discussion, but it is of such magnitude that I could 
not do it justice here, hence I shall content myself 
with the mention of a few points on ventilation. 

Ventilation of hospital wards is accomplished in the 
best modern examples from American practice by 
mechanical means, such as fans and blowers, run by 
steam-engines or by electric motors. It is frequently, 
however, the case where such ventilating machinery was 
originally installed, that the fans are found not in use, 
for reasons of economy, after the building has been 
occupied for some length of time. It would seem rather 
absurd to put in such expensive installations which 
practically accomplish no good, because not kept in 
operation. I am inclined, therefore, to give prefer- 
ence to natural over mechanical ventilation, although I 
am aware of the fact that to keep the air in the wards 
pure or up to standard, very large volumes of fresh 
air have to be provided. It is usual to provide an air- 
supply of from 2700 to 3500 cubic feet per hour per bed. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 149 

The least that can be done is to provide for the wards 
a change of air three times an hour. 

In theatre buildings mechanical ventilation is more 
feasible, because it is required only for a few hours 
each day, hence nearly all modern theatres have such 
installation. In addition to any ventilating system it 
is desirable to practice " air-flushing" between the 
afternoon and evening performances. 

Defective ventilation in churches is often the cause of 
the drowsiness of the audiences. Ventilation of these 
buildings is particularly important where two or three 
services are held on the same day. It is one of the 
often neglected duties of the sexton to see that the 
church building is properly ventilated. 

For school-houses a system of mechanical ventilation 
is, as a rule, too costly. It is certainly out of the 
question for the majority of schools of smaller towns, 
which have but one or two classrooms. A fair, natural 
ventilation can, however, always be secured by means 
of properly built and properly dimensioned exhaust 
flues, in which a positive updraft has been provided. 

In school ventilation, two points are essential, viz. : 

(1) Provide abundant air-flushing during recess; 

(2) Remove carefully all sources of air-pollution; 
This means (a) that the wardrobes for pupils should 

never be placed in the classrooms; 

(b) That school baths should be provided to keep the 
children clean and to teach them cleanliness of the body ; 

(c) That a scrupulous cleanliness be maintained 
everywhere in the building. 

In bath-houses ventilation is quite necessary to remove 
the vapors arising from the hot water when the sprays 
are running or the tubs are filling. Efficient ventila- 
tion is very necessary in Turkish bath establishments, 
but is also very costly. In the swimming-baths of 



150 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

German cities I found water-sprays provided in the 
four corners of the clerestory over the swimming-pool 
which are intended to cool and purify the air. 

Market halls require ventilation principally on account 
of the odors attaching to some of the provisions for 
sale; it is likewise necessary to keep the food from 
spoiling. 

The room or building in abattoirs where, according to 
my observations, ventilation is most essential, is the 
one where the entrails of slaughtered animals are 
cleaned and boiled. 



Some Building Details 

Number of Stories.— In large hospitals there should not 
be more than two principal floors; one-story pavilions 
are even better. But the administration building and 
the pathological building may be higher. 

School-houses should, where the ground area permits, 
not be higher than two or three stories. Stair climbing 
is objectionable and injurious, and also adds to the 
danger of panic and loss of life. 

Abattoirs and markets are usually one-story buildings, 
and have the offices located on an upper gallery floor. 
The model slaughterhouse erected recently in the 
City of New York is an exception, it being six stories 
high. 

Theatres would be much safer if they had only one 
tier in addition to the parquet; the largest number of 
victims in all theatre fires have always been in the 
highest gallery, from which the escape in case of a 
calamity is the most difficult. 

Principal Rooms. — The hospital ward is the unit in 
hospital planning. The best form is the oblong or 
rectangular room, with windows on both long sides. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 151 

The rooms for the nurses, the pantry, and the doctor's 
room should be placed at one end, and the bathroom, 
lavatory, toilet, scullery, and the patient's dayroom at 
the other. The dayroom should have a wide front 
and a sunny exposure. In two-story pavilions the 
stairs should be kept away from the ward and placed 
directly at the entrance. 

Both the circular and the octagonal forms of wards 
are rare, though they offer some advantages, such as 
good exposure to air and sunlight; but the disad- 
vantages outweigh the advantages, for they are wasteful 
in centre floor space and require a larger floor area for 
the same number of beds than the oblong ward. Con- 
structional difficulties are apt to increase the cost of 
building them. Square wards are not desirable except 
for wards containing only a few beds. 

Suitable dimensions for a rectangular ward to contain 
30 beds are: Length 100 feet; width 28 feet; beds 
spaced 3| feet apart; centre space between rows of 
beds should be from 10 to 12 feet. Thirty-two beds is 
the maximum capacity of a large ward, 20 to 30 beds 
are the average ; corridor wards are smaller and contain 
from 10 to 12 beds, and never more than 18. 

For each bed there should be provided from 85 to 100 
square feet floor space and from 1500 to 1750 cubic 
feet. A larger allowance should be made for wards in 
the pavilions for infectious diseases. 

Suitable dimensions for a school-room are: Length 
28 to 32 feet; width 20 to 28 feet; height 13 to 14 feet. 
The maximum number of pupils for a classroom may be 
taken as 45 to 50; the floor space per pupil should be 
1 6 square feet, and the cubic space 200 to 225 cubic feet. 

In slaughter-houses we may distinguish two types of 
the arrangement of the slaughter-hall: One is the 
open hall system, generally having a wide centre hall 



152 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

and two side halls, open and connected; the other 
type is the one with individual killing compartments, 
separated by walls or partitions. 

Furniture and Equipment. — Of particular interest in 
the case of hospitals is the furniture of the wards, and 
the equipment of the operating-rooms, which require 
so-called aseptic furniture. It is important that the 
windows and outer doors of kitchens, pantries, and 
dining-rooms be provided with metallic screens to keep 
out flies and thus to protect the food. 

In school-houses it is of importance to provide hygienic 
desks and seats, which favor a good posture of the pupils 
and prevent curvature of the spine and near-sighted- 
ness. For the pupils of different ages in a classroom 
there should be seats and desks of varying height. 

For the comfort of theatre-goers, allow a floor space 
of 5 to 6 square feet per person. In churches this 
allowance is even higher, viz., from 7 to 8 square feet. 

A hygienic equipment of slaughtering-halls is import- 
ant. There should be plenty of sinks, and an ample 
water-supply with numerous taps for both hot and cold 
water. Inside hydrants should be provided for the 
washing of floors. The floors should not be slippery; 
ample and conveniently arranged hoisting machinery, 
numerous trucks and tanks, barrels, and pails are 
essential. A cold-storage plant for meat is absolutely 
required. 

Safety from Fire 

In the inspection of public buildings we should not 
overlook the question of safety from fire. The safety 
of the building interests us only indirectly and is a 
matter well taken care of by the underwriters. What 
concerns the sanitarian most is the safety of the in- 
mates. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 153 

All public buildings, where a large number of people 
are congregated or assembled, whether for a few hours 
only, or for the entire day, or which are occupied both 
night and day, are more than ordinarily susceptible to 
calamities due to fire or panic, and should for this 
reason receive particular attention by the authorities 
in charge, the building department, the fire, local 
health, and the State Board of Health departments. 

The following table, taken from the Chronicle fire 
tables, gives a good idea of the enormous annual fire 
loss of such structures: 



Buildings of Public oe Semi-public Character Injured 
or Destroyed by Fire in United States (Three Years). 

{From Chronicle.) 

1900. 1901. 1902. Total. Per Week. 

Theatres and opera houses 133 149 145 427 2.7 

Public halls, dancing 38 46 44 128 .8 

Churches 575 658 588 1821 11.7 

Schools 528 546 509 1583 10. 1 

Hospitals 73 79 103 255 1.6 

Asylums 78 72 72 222 1.4 

College buildings and semi- 
naries 110 96 106 312 2.0 

Libraries 19 15 9 43 .3 

Jails 64 79 78 221 1.4 

Hotels 1321 1378 1463 4162 26.7 

3065 3229 3196 9490 60.8 



The inspections recommended should be made, not 
only during the construction of the buildings, but after 
their completion as well. 

In some of the buildings under discussion it seems 
desirable to introduce apparatus or appliances for the 
automatic extinguishment of fire. This is already 



154 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

being done in theatres, and also in extra-hazardous parts 
of hospitals, and after a recent school fire calamity it 
was proposed for school-houses. According to recent 
statistics, 93 per cent of fires starting in buildings 
equipped with sprinklers are extinguished, or at least 
held in check by them. 

In dealing with this problem, we should bear in mind 
the dangers due to an actual outbreak of fire as well 
as those due to panic caused by a false alarm of fire, or 
otherwise. Regarding the danger of a panic in places 
of assembly and schools, the question of planning is 
of more immediate importance than fireproof construc- 
tion. A good, symmetrical plan, with wide corridors 
and ample and numerous stairways is desirable. Stairs 
should be fire and smoke-proof and well-lighted; doors 
should always swing outward, and they should never 
be locked in schools, churches, or theatres during a 
session, service, or performance. 

In making an inspection of public buildings, with a 
view to their safety from fire, and the safety of their 
inmates, look first of all after the means of intercom- 
munication between the floors, and after the exits and 
fire-escapes. In public buildings stairs should never 
have winding steps; long flights of stairs should be 
interrupted by landings; hand-rails should be well 
fastened and placed on both sides of the stairs. There 
should always be at least two wide staircases from the 
second floor to the street. In theatres the building 
laws require two separate stairs for each tier, and two 
means of exit from the stage. Elevators should never 
be placed in the centre of the staircase-shaft. Exits 
should be well located, made conspicuous and dimen- 
sioned sufficiently wide to permit of the quick empty- 
ing of the building. Doors should always open out- 
ward. In my judgment, no "emergency exits" should 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 155 

ever be permitted to exist in schools, theatres, and 
churches; all stairs should be in daily use by the public 
after the session, service, or performance, in order 
that the people using the building may have ample 
opportunity to become acquainted with the location of 
the exits. 

A few years ago the City of Munich determined that 
the word "emergency exit" should not be used any 
longer in theatres. All those exits which were intended 
for the public, and which hitherto were so called, were 
hereafter lettered merely "exits." It was ordained that 
they must be so maintained and arranged that they 
are regularly used after each and every performance, 
in order to make the public acquainted with the avail- 
able ways of exit from the theatre, so that in case of 
actual danger they shall know where to find them. In 
Berlin this safety measure has been in use since the 
year 1890. It is also used in some of the Boston and 
New York theatres. It is certainly a measure which 
deserves to be widely promulgated. Another good rea- 
son why the term emergency exit should be done away 
with is that playgoers go to the theatre or the concert 
hall to enjoy a few hours of quiet comfort and amuse- 
ment after the worry and excitement of the day's work ; 
it is obvious that they cannot do so if they find staring 
at their face at every other door the unfortunate words 
which only serve to remind them again and again of 
the danger and peril to which they may become exposed. 
The public should, on the contrary, find all possible 
cause for reassurance, for this helps more than anything 
else to prevent a panic. The public should learn that 
plenty of exits are provided, which are always kept 
open during the performance, and that the widest possible 
provision is made for them to leave the building in the 
shortest possible time should a fire or false panic occur. 



156 GUJDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Omitting the consideration of the fire-extinguishing 
equipment, I wish to point out that the maintenance of 
cleanliness and careful, periodical inspections assist 
materially in preventing outbreaks of fire. The inspec- 
tion of the heating-apparatus, of the smoke-flues, of 
the lighting arrangements, and of the water-supply are 
of particular importance. 

In the case of hospitals we are dealing with a con- 
gregation of helpless patients, many of whom are bed- 
stricken. The annual fire record regarding theatres 
and churches destroyed by fire is appalling. In some 
large cities the building rules are now very strict 
and here we find recently-built theatres to be much 
safer. 

A frequent inspection of churches is equally desirable. 
Many modern school buildings are still erected without 
due regard to safety. The record for the six months 
from January to June, 1908, shows the occurrence of 
fifty-eight fires in the school-houses of the United 
States and Canada. School-houses should be built of 
fire-resisting or slow-burning construction. The danger 
points should be equipped with automatic sprinklers, 
chiefly the basements, the boiler or furnace-rooms, the 
closets under stairs, the storerooms, clothes-rooms, 
lockers, corridors, and laboratories. 

A school-house should be capable of being emptied in 
from three to four minutes, and the necessary stairways 
and exits to accomplish this should always be provided. 
The suggestion, made after the Collinwood, Ohio, school 
fire by several architectural papers that schools should 
have emergency exits, is entirely wrong. I claim that 
all exits should be used by teachers and children daily, 
and at the fire-drills to make them acquainted with the 
means of escape. The ceilings over boilers should be 
fireproofed, and no storage of inflammable material of 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 157 

any kind in the cellar and no wooden enclosures near 
the heating apparatus, should be tolerated. 

If these and similar precautions were more generally 
observed, we should have fewer horrors like the one 
of the Lakewood school, near Cleveland, Ohio, of 
March 4, 1908, wherein 173 children and 2 teachers 
perished out of total of 310, and where, within one hour 
from the time the fire was discovered, the entire school 
building was in ruins. 

Removal of Waste Food and of Offal 

Hospital buildings should always have a garbage- 
furnace or crematory, not only for the destruction by 
fire of ordinary refuse and offal from the kitchen, but 
also for the burning of infected bandages and dressings. 
This should generally be erected at or near the boiler- 
house, but sometimes we find it placed in connection 
with the sewage disinfecting station. 

School-houses of country districts should have a lunch- 
room for those children who live far from the school 
and who remain there during the noon recess. The 
janitor should take scrupulous care of the food remains 
and have them stored in covered tight receptacles 
pending removal. 

In markets decomposing animal and vegetable food 
should not be permitted to accumulate, but must be 
removed daily. The maintenance of cleanliness is very 
important and embraces daily sweeping, flushing, and 
occasional disinfection. Waste bits of food, butcher's 
offal, fruit peelings, etc., should be removed in covered 
carts, and the removal of any food materials condemned 
by the health officer should be prompt and regular. 

In abattoirs the maintenance of absolute cleanliness 
and sanitation is furthered by a prompt removal of all 



158 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

waste accumulations which might attract flies and 
rats. The fight against these pests must be kept up 
at all hazards. A prompt disposal of the manure from 
the cattle-yards, stables, and slaughtering-halls is also 
necessary. 

Maintenance of Cleanliness 

In hospital buildings constant vigilance is required to 
exclude all manner of dirt. A proper sanitary con- 
struction of the walls, floors, ceilings, windows, and 
doors will assist in maintaining the wards, the bath 
and toilet-rooms, the pantry, kitchen, and laundry, 
clean and wholesome. 

Thorough cleanliness is most essential in hospitals 
for three reasons : 

1. To prevent air contamination; 

2. To preserve the highest degree of personal cleanli- 
ness and thus to prevent contagion or blood-poisoning; 

3. To maintain the purity of the water and food 
supply. 

In theatres and halls of amusement the floors, stairs, 
aisles, chairs, and carpets must be kept clean by 
daily sweeping and dusting. Both should be done in 
a sanitary manner, and in this connection it may be 
mentioned that the new mechanical or vacuum systems 
for the removal of dust and dirt are worthy of investiga- 
tion. Much can also be done to maintain cleanliness 
by avoiding the use of heavy hangings and decorations, 
and of the plush seats which catch and retain the dust. 

In churches carpets and pew-cushions are harbingers 
of dust. The floors require sweeping and scrubbing, 
and once in a while they should be washed with disin- 
fecting solutions. The Sunday-school room requires 
the greatest amount of attention. The matter of clean- 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 159 

liness is particularly important in those churches where 
more than one service is held in a day, and where all 
classes of people congregate. 

The janitor is the custodian of the school building, 
and as such is intrusted with the important task of 
keeping the building clean. This involves the care of 
the classrooms, of the wardrobes, of the corridors, 
stairs, and entrances, and of the toilet-rooms. Metallic 
door-mats or shoe-scrapers should be provided at the 
entrance doors. The cleaning of the windows should 
be done frequently and thoroughly. 

The school principal should control the janitor's work, 
and it should not be overlooked that in large school 
buildings the work is so onerous as to require some 
assistance for the janitor. 

This person should follow a regular routine in the 
daily cleaning after school closes. Sweeping should be 
done with wet sawdust, and trie dusting of the school 
furniture with damp cloths. Hygienic methods of 
cleaning are not always followed by the janitors, nor 
are they pointed out or encouraged by all Boards of 
Education. 

Besides the daily cleaning there is the periodical 
cleaning, which should be even more thorough, and 
include the walls, windows, ceilings, etc. Periodical 
sanitary inspections of schools are desirable to guard 
against the building becoming unsanitary. Besides 
this, there should be kept during the entire school period 
a medical inspection service as a constant precaution 
against the spread of communicable diseases brought 
to the schools by the pupils. 

In markets and abattoirs proper drainage facilities, a 
sufficiently ample water-supply, and an efficient removal 
of all offal and refuse, assist in maintaining general 
cleanliness. There should be a thorough daily flush- 



160 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

ing of walls and floors after the slaughtering, to re- 
move the blood, the waste bits of hair, and other 
dirt. 

The slaughtering equipment should be kept scrupu- 
lously clean, so that the work of killing the animals and 
preparing the meat and the meat food-products may 
be performed in a sanitary manner. The tables, trucks, 
racks, utensils, and butchers' tools should be cleaned 
daily and sterilized from time to time. The working 
clothes of the employees and the persons themselves 
should always appear neat and clean. 

The sanitary inspection service of the abattoirs should 
embrace three divisions, namely : 

(1) The examination of the live stock by veterinary 
surgeons; 

(2) The inspection of the meat from slaughtered ani- 
mals, performed by Government and municipal in- 
spectors, and which should include a microscopical 
inspection in the laboratory; 

(3) The sanitary inspection of the buildings and of 
their surroundings by well-qualified sanitary inspectors. 
This inspection service is among the most important 
duties of the administration of abattoirs. The proper 
and successful management of central abattoirs requires 
a strict enforcement of carefully drawn up rules and 
regulations, which should be framed by the State Board 
of Health, which should have ample legal power to 
enforce them. 

In the following pages I present a number of in- 
spection schedules for school-houses (the first and 
second being prepared by me), two schedules for 
hospitals, and one suitable for general institutions 
and prisons. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 161 



Schedule for Sanitary Inspection of Schools 



No. of Report Date . . 

Name of school 

Location Built when? 

Altitude Area of school site 

How is site as regards elevation and drainage? . . 

Neighborhood? 

Stagnant pools? 

Offensive trades? 

Other nuisances? 

Barnyards? 

Slaughter-houses? 

How is the site as regards the aspect? 

Distance of building back from the street? 

Character of the soil? 

Character of the surface drainage? 

Size of building 

Material of construction 

Brick or stone? 

Frame? 

Combination? 

Fire-proof building? 

How many stories? 

Is there a basement or a cellar? 

What is the condition of the basement? 

Wet? 

Damp? 

Dirty? 

Dark? 

Unventilated? 

Cemented? . 

Waterproofed? 

Floored? 

How many class-rooms? 

Size of principal class-rooms? 

Length? 

Width? 

Height? 

Number of pupils? 

Cubic space per pupil? 

Floor space per pupil? 



162 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



How many entrances are there to the building? 

Do the entrance doors open outward? . . 

Are the class-rooms wainscoted? 

How are the floors of class-rooms finished? 

How are the walls of class-rooms finished?. 

How are the ceilings of class-rooms finished? 

How many windows in class-room? 

How are the windows placed? 

Mullion windows or single windows? 

Size of glass surface in windows? 

Proportion of glass surface in windows to floor surface? 

How close to the ceiling do the windows come? 

Are the windows placed at the left side of desks only? 

Are they placed at the left side and behind? . . 

Are there any windows to the right or in front of pupils? . . 

Are school-rooms sufficiently lighted? 

Are there shades or inside or outside blinds for windows?. . . 

What is the width of corridors? 

Yard Size? 

How is it used? 

Is it walled in? . , 

Is it well drained? 

How is the yard surface finished? 

How is building heated? 

Stoves? Are they jacketed? .... 

Furnaces? Cold-air box? 

Direct steam radiators? 

Direct-indirect steam heating? 

Indirect steam heating? 

Hot- water heating? Direct? Indirect? . . . 

What is the average temperature maintained in class-room? 
How are the class-rooms ventilated in winter? 

In summer? 

Where are the ventilating registers located? 

How is fresh air introduced into class-rooms?. . 

Give any analyses of air of class-rooms during school hours . 
How are the blackboards placed? 

Are there blackboards between windows? 

What is the source of water-supply? 

Wells? 

Cisterns? 

City supply? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 163 

If from wells, what is their depth? 

Are any privy vaults, stables, cesspools near the well? 

If so, at what distance? 

Is the well protected from surface pollution? 

Is the well cleaned out periodically? 

Has the well-water been analyzed? 

Are there any outhouses or privies belonging to school-house?. , 
How many feet away from main building are they placed? .... 

Are the buildings kept in a sanitary condition? 

Are there privies, or vaults, or earth-closets? 

How often are the vaults cleaned and disinfected? 

Does a janitor live on the premises? 

How often is the school building inspected? 

Are water-closets used in the school? 

If so, are they located in the basement? 

Or in a separate building? 

Are the water-closets abundantly flushed? 

Are they kept clean and odorless? 

What type of water-closet is used? 

How are the water-closets ventilated? 

Where are the wardrobes located for pupils' garments? 

Are there facilities for drying pupils' wet clothes? 

Are the school seats and desks fitted to the size of pupils? 

Are any class-rooms overcrowded? 

Is there any provision for lavatories for the pupils? 

Are there any school-baths for the pupils? 

What type are the baths? 

Where located? 

What is the general condition of the plumbing of the school?. . 

How is the building sewered? 

Is there a gymnasium? State the area of outdoor play- 
grounds? 

Are there opportunities for pupils to exercise, sheltered from the 

cold, heat, wet, and without breathing foul air contaminated 

by the privies or the water-closets? 

Is the school building located away from factories and com- 
mercial buildings? 

Is the school building erected with due regard to fire resistance? 

Is it regularly inspected with a view to fire prevention? 

Is the basement completely isolated from the first floor? 

Is the ceiling of basement fire-proofed? 

Are the heating boilers in a fire-proof enclosure? 



164 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Are combustible or inflammable materials stored in the base- 
ment? in the attic? 

Are the stairways fire-proofed and enclosed in fire-proof enclos- 
ures like " wire glass? '' 

Are there sufficient inside stairways to permit emptying the 

school in three minutes? 

Have the stairways handrails on each side? Is there a 

centre rail on stairways wider than five feet? 

Are the stairways located on opposite sides or corners of the 

building? , 

Do the class-room doors open into the room? 

Do the stair doors on upper floors open toward the staircase? . . 
Are there sufficient exits to permit the pupils to leave the school 

building at the rate of 120 persons per minute for each exit? 

Do all exit doors swing outward? 

Are there so-called emergency exits ? Are these in daily 

use? Are they kept locked? Who has the key? 

Is the "rapid dismissal drill " practiced regularly? 

Are there any roof ladders in the school? Are these of iron? 

Is there a fire-alarm system? 

Are fire-pails, chemical extinguishers, or fire standpipes pro- 
vided? 

Is there an automatic sprinkler equipment? If so, what 

parts of the school building does it protect? . . . 

Examine the school building with regard to the known chief 
causes of fire, which, in their order of frequency, are about 
as follows: 

Hot-air furnaces, defective flues; 

Sparks on roof; spontaneous combustion; 

Electric lighting; 

External incendiary by tramps; 

Bad exposure ; 

Careless use of matches; 

Carelessness of mechanics doing repairs in building; 

Heating stoves; 

Carelessness of pupils; 

Boys smoking in school basement; 

Kerosene-oil stoves; 

Mice and matches; 

Gas-jets ; 

Coal-gas explosions and leaky gas-pipes. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 165 

Sanitary School-house Inspection 

(Plumbing and Toilet-rooms only) 

Date 



1. Name of school 

2. Location 

3. Number of stories 4. Number of pupils 

5. Character of building in general (very old, not so old, new, 

just completed) 

6. Where are the pupils' toilet rooms located? 

7. Are the toilet rooms heated? 

8. How many seats on each side? 9. Walls and floors?. . 

10. Light? 11. Ventilation? 

12. Are toilet rooms free from odor? 

13. What kind of fixture is used for the water-closets? 

Type? 

Construction? 

Trapping? Flushing? 

Maintenance of fixture? 

14. What kind of fixture is used for boys' urinals? 

Type? 

Construction? 

Trapping? Flushing? 

Maintenance? 

15. Are there any pupils' lavatories? Where located? .... 

Type? 

Construction? . , 

Trapping? Maintenance of fixture? 

Are towels furnished? 

16. Teachers' closets, where located? How many? 

Type of fixture? 

Construction? 

Trapping? Flushing? 

Maintenance of fixture? 

17. How is the building supplied with water? 

18. How is the building sewered? 

19. Character of plumbing in general? (Exposed and ac- 

cessible or closed up? Modern or old-fashioned?) . . 

20. Are there any pupils' drinking fountains? 

Type and construction? 



166 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

21. Are there any school baths? 

Type and construction? 

Number of baths? 

22. Are there any outhouses or privies? 

Construction? 

How many feet away from main building? 

Sanitary conditions? 

Are there any vaults? 

Are there earth closets? 

How often are the vaults cleaned out? 

Are there any cesspools in the school grounds? 

Result of Inspection : 

I submit herewith another schedule for school-house 
inspections : 

I. The Building 
A 

Name of school 

Average attendance (boys, ; girls, ). Enrolment. 

Building is on clay .... sand .... gravel earth rock 

Ground is usually wet dry 

The site is naturally elevated artificially elevated .... 

Site is drained by what means? 

B 

The building is in what part of the city or town? 

It fronts north;. . . .south;. . . .west;. . . .east;. . . .northeast;. . . 

southeast; northwest; southwest 

Distance from nearest buildings 

Nearest buildings are on what side? 

Character of the nearest buildings, e.g., dwelling-houses, etc. . . 
Are they high enough to intercept light? Do their walls 

reflect light strongly (white walls) ? 

Do their walls absorb light strongly (dark walls)? Are 

there large trees near enough to intercept light? 

Are there in the neighborhood factories (if any, state kind)? 

workshops stables markets 

If yes, they are on what side? At what distance? 

Height of school building to top of upper story 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 167 

Width of school building Length of school building 

Has it an attic over upper story? Depth of cellar 

Width of cellar Length of cellar 

Number of floors in building 

Number of class-rooms on each floor 

Number of class-rooms on north side east side 

south side and west side on the first floor . . . 

Number of class-rooms on the north side east side 

south side and west side on second floor 

Number of class-rooms on the north side east side ...... 

south side and west side on third floor 

Number of hallways on each floor The hallways run in 

what direction? 

They extend the whole length or breadth of the building? 

Locality of wardrobes on each floor? 

They communicate with the rooms? They communicate 

with the hallways? 



Kind of latrines: water-closets earth-closets vaults. 

If water-closets, how many rooms for boys? girls? 

They are within the building? If yes, on what floor?. . . . 

Those for boys on what side? those for girls? 

They communicate with the hallway? 

If in the basement, those for boys are on what side? girls? 

They communicate with the cellar or a stairway? 

They are ventilated by pipes or flues extending how high? 

Their floor is of brick cement asphalt Water is 

constantly running or not? 

Are urinals in same room with water-closets? 

If earth-closets are used, they are within or without the build- 
ing? 

If within, they are on what floor? Those for boys are on 

what side? girls? 

They are emptied how often? 

The urinals are on what floor? on the north .... east .... 

south or west side? How ventilated? 

If without the building, they are in the yard, on the north 

east south or west side? 

If tanks, vaults, or trenches are used, they are within or without 
the building? 



168 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

If within, they are for boys, in the basement on the 

north east south or west side; for 

girls on the north east south or west side. 

How often emptied? cleaned? 

The vaults are of wood brick stone Cemented? 

They are ventilated by pipes or flues extending how high? 

The closets are ventilated by pipes or flues extending how high? 

Where are urinals placed? Constantly flushed with water 

or not? 

Any odor usually perceptible from the water or other closets; 
if yes, on what floor and in what room? 

Are there bathtubs in building? If so, state locality 

Are they connected with sewer? 

Are the lavatories fixed washstands connected with sewer? .... 

Are they independent of sewer? 

Are they in a separate room from the water-closets? 

In what part of building are they? . . . . 

Is drinking-water taken from street mains? From well o.' 

spring on premises? , 

Locality of such well or spring on premises 

Distance from drain or closet vault 



The building is of wood brick stone The cellar 

walls are of brick stone cement 

The cellar floor is of brick stone cemented water- 
proofed 

Mention any other material The floor is usually 

dry moist 

II. The Rooms 

(Fill out for each Room separately) 

Name of school ./.; ' 

No. of room. ...... .on what floor? on what side op 

building? . 

Length of room breadth height. 

Cubic feet (reduced from above questions) 

Number of single desks in room double desks. .... .... 

Kind of desks (describe by name known in trade) . . ..>.... . ; , : ;. .• 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 169 

They face north east south west. Floor space 

to each pupil (deduced from above question) 

Distance from windows to farthest desks Number of win- 
dows in the room 

Height of sills from floor Height of windows 

Breadth of windows 

Square feet lighting surface (deduced from foregoing questions) . 

How many are on the north east south west, 

etc sides? 

Is the room lighted from above? Is the room venti- 
lated by flues provided with registers? 

The flues open into both the top and bottom of the room? 

Area of openings into flues * 

Do the flues communicate with other rooms? 

Is there an artificial draught up the flues? 

How produced? 

Do the wardrobes open into the room or connect with separate 
flues? 

Number of doors in room 

Number of doors on the north east south and 

west sides 

They open into what? 

Height of doors width 

Number of gas-burners in room 

Room is heated by stove hot air steam-pipes 

hot water or steam 

Location in the room of hot-air inlets or other sources of 
heat 

How is moisture supplied to the air? 

Walls of room are of wood brick stone lath 

and plaster tiles glazed 

State any other material 

Tint of walls Are maps, etc., hung between windows?. . 

The floor of the room is of wood cement brick 

stone Are the walls and floor "packed" or not? 

If on first floor and no cellar is below, how far is the floor above 
the ground? 



* If the opening is covered with an iron grating, the area can 
only be estimated. In such cases give the height and breadth of 
the opening and approximate area. 



170 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Another schedule is as follows: 

Name and location of school Name of principal 

1. a. What open spaces are there attached to your school? . . . 

b. Are they adequate for play purposes? 

c. If not, is there vacant ground adjacent? 

d. Are you in favor of properly equipped and managed play- 

grounds as part of the educational system? 

e. Have you school gardens for nature study?.*. 

/. Are you in favor of them? 

2. a. Have you a gymnasium in connection with your school? 
b. Are you in favor of them for elementary schools? 

3. a. Have you a shower-bath or bathing facilities at your 

school? 

b. Are you in favor of them? 

4. a. Have you an assembly hall in connection with your 

school? 

5. a. Are you in favor of the establishment of a branch of the 

Public Library in your school? 

b. Have you a school library? 

6. a. Have free lectures been held at your school? 

b. If so, with what success? 

c. Do you favor their continuance and extension?. 

d. Do you favor the public use of schools after school hours 

as social centres? 

7. o. Is there a parents' club in connection with your school?. 
&. Are you in favor of such organization? 

8. a. Have you a manual training department? 

b. Do you favor manual training for boys and girls of all 

grades in the public schools? 

9. a. Have vacation schools been established in connection 

with your school? 

b. If so, with what success? 

c. If you have not one, what demand is there for such a 

school in your community? 

10. a. What is the most urgent need in your school? 

INVESTIGATION OF VENTILATION AND SANITATION 

11. a. Name of system of ventilation used? 

b. When installed? 

c. Is it in good order? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 171 

d. Is it satisfactory to the principal? 

e. If not, why not? 

/. State your own views about it? 

g. How many rooms have you visited, and what was their 

condition, generally and particularly? 

h. Are the rooms large or small, and what number of pupils 
in each? 

i. What is your opinion as to the number of pupils any one 
teacher should have charge of? 

j. Do teachers find it necessary to open windows? 

k. Is it permitted or forbidden? 

I. Have you personally investigated the means for getting 
fresh air into rooms, where patent ventilation machin- 
ery is used, so that you can report on that outside of 

what has been told you about it? 

12. Great caution should be used with your report of branch 
schools, as there may be subjects calling for special 
attention, not covered by the above questions, and 
which should be covered on separate sheets of paper . . 

Still another school-inspection schedule is the fol- 
lowing: 

1. Name and grade of school? 

2. Name of principal? 

First assistant? 



3. Is the school-house built on land which is high or low, in 

comparison with adjoining land? 

4. Is it built on soil which is naturally dry or porous? 

(a) If not, is the soil well underdrained? 

(b) Or does it retain moisture after rain? 

5. Is it away from marshes and stagnant pools, and from noisy 

or objectionable industries, stables, and from railroads? 

6. Is it near the centre of the district and accessible from the 

street-cars? 

7. What is the distance of the school-house from other build- 

ings? 

What is the height of those buildings? 



172 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

8. What is the size of the play-grounds? 

Are they sunny and dry? 

Is the pavement of brick or asphalt? 

In what part of the play-grounds are the outhouses, if any, 

situated? 

9. How many cesspools in the yard? 

How often cleaned? 

Are they connected with the sewers? 

10. How often are the neighboring streets cleaned? 

How often watered? 

11. Is there any alley on any side of the school-house? 

Is it kept clean and free from refuse? 



BUILDING 

12. How many pupils was it designed to accomodate? 

How many now occupy it? 

13. How old is the building? 

14. What is the material of which it is built? 

15. How many stories has it? 

16. How many flights of stairs to the highest classroom? 

How many times a day does each pupil go over these 

stairs? 

17. If there is a hall on the upper floor, how often do the pupils 

go there? 

18. What provisions are made for fire-escapes? 

19. Is there any fire-drill? 

How often practised? 

20. Number of rooms built for class-room purposes? 

Are all of these rooms used for classes? 

How many rooms in one floor? 

21. What extra rooms could be, or have been, brought into use 

for class-rooms? 

22. How are the extra class-rooms situated with regard to closets 

or other plumbing, sun, and ventilation? 

23. Are the rooms which are used for recitation used also for 

study? 

Are they used for both purposes at the same time? 

Does this increase the average number of pupils occupying 

the room? 

24. If halls are used for recitation are they sufficiently lighted? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 173 

25. If rooms or halls are used for play during recess, are they 

sunny and well ventilated? 

26. If rooms are used for play during recess, have they been 

unoccupied and thoroughly aired for at least fifteen 
minutes preceding? 

27. If the basement is used for play, is it properly floored, dry, 

and open to sunlight? 

How situated with reference to closets and washrooms? . . . 

28. What provision is made for outside clothes? 

Is the space large enough to allow of good airing, and of 

ready access by the children? 

Are the cloak rooms ventilated? 

What provision is made for drying clothes in rainy weather? 

29. How often are the cloak rooms cleaned? 

How thoroughly? 

Are the walls ever wiped with a disinfectant? 

BASEMENT 

30. Is there any fence or wall which prevents sunlight from 

reaching the basement walls? 

31. What is the height of the basement inside? 

How much of this height is above ground? 

32. Is there any part to which the sunlight does not penetrate, 

or which has no ventilation? 

33. Are there several windows on at least two sides, admitting 

sun and air? How large are these windows? 

34. Are they accessible, and opened daily? 

35. Are the floors and walls always dry? 

36. Is basement kept clean and free from rubbish? 

37. If there is no basement, is there a ventilated air space under 

the whole building? 

Are there at least three feet of this air space above ground? 

SANITARIES 

38. Is the water-carriage system used in disposing of excreta? 
If not, what system? 

39. How many closets are provided for the use of the pupils?. . 

40. How many for the use of the teachers? 

41. Are the closets in a separate tower, or shut off from the 

main building any way? 



174 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

42. If not, how are they situated? 

43. How are they ventilated? 

44. Is all the plumbing exposed to view, or easily acces- 

sible? 

45. How many pupils to a closet? 

(Answer by computation.) 

46. What facilities are provided in the way of washrooms, or 

washbowls, or sinks and towels? 

47. Has each water-closet or sink a trap? 

48. Are the traps ventilated? 

Does the vent-pipe extend through to the roof and two feet 

above it, entirely separate from the chimney-flue? 

49. Has the old-fashioned pan closet been replaced by one of 

the simple modern closets? 

50. Does each closet have a sufficient supply of water, dis- 

charged with sufficient force completely to scour the 
trap, — i.e., two or three gallons of water? 

51. How often are the washbowls and basins of the closets 

washed? 

52. How often are the floors of the closets scrubbed? 

53. Is any disinfectant ever used? What? 

54. Is there a plan of the drainage system hung on the wall of 

the engineers' or janitors' office? 

55. Is any instruction given to the children as to the importance 

of care in the use of the closets? 

(a) As to cleanliness? 

(6) As to throwing into the closet articles that would clog 
the pipes — strings, sticks, fruit debris? 

56. Is there any regular inspection of the plumbing by an 

expert? 

57. When was it last inspected, and by whom?. . . . (See him) . . 
Does he consider it in good condition? 

58. If there is no water-carriage system, where are the privies? 

Are receptacles cemented? 

How often are the contents removed? 

59. If there has been a run of any contagious disease in this 

school, has the plumbing been supposed to be at 

fault? 

If so, has it been properly inspected and repaired, or re- 
placed? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 175 



HEATING 

60. What is the system of heating, — steam, furnace, or hot 

water? 

Is the heat furnished by direct or indirect radiation? 

61. How long has the heating apparatus been in? 

62. Is there provision for the evaporation of water? 

63. Is the air for the furnace drawn from the cellar, or from out- 

doors? 

64. When was the boiler (if any) last inspected, and by whom? 

(See him.) 
What was the verdict? 



VENTILATION 

65. What is the method of producing ventilation, — by the 

natural circulation of air, by mechanical method (by 
fans) or by the heated air shaft? 

66. If mechanical, is either the vacuum or plenum system, or are 

both systems used? 

67. Whatever the system, is it in full use? 

Does it work well? . . 

68. If the system of ventilation is separate from the system of 

heating, is the fresh air brought into the building by a 
cold-air room in the basement or cellar, or by ducts 

leading into the outer air? 

What is the size of the cold-air box or space? 

69. Is the opening leading to the cold-air duct or room so 

arranged that it can be regulated? If so, by whom? 

70. What is the size of the flue or box leading to each room?. . . 

71. How does the janitor or engineer regulate the amount of 

heat or fresh air needed? 

72. How many cubic feet of air is furnished per minute per 

pupil? (To be determined by an expert.) 

73. Is the shaft for removing foul air upright? 

Does it lead unmistakably to the outer air? 

Is it heated? 

74. How are the halls ventilated? 

Are they kept clean? 

Are they as warm as the classrooms? 

75. Are they used for storage of material, or for cases? 



176 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

76. Is it possible for used-up air from one room to enter another 

room? 

77. Are the air-ducts and flues for the ventilation of the school- 

rooms entirely separate from the appliances used for 
ventilating the sanitary rooms? 

78. What per cent of carbonic acid gas is there in the air of the 

school-rooms during school hours? (To be determined by 
an expert.) 

CLEANING 

79. What are the duties required of the janitor in regard to 

cleaning? 

80. Is the regular cleaning supplemented by outside work? .... 
By whom paid? 

81. How often are the floors of school-rooms and halls well swept? 

How often washed? 

Is damp sawdust used in sweeping? 

82. How often are the windows washed? 

83. How often is the room dusted? 

By feather-dusters or cloth? 

By whom? 

84. Are the seats, desks, and walls ever wiped with a damp cloth? 

85. Is any disinfectant (and what) ever used in connection with 

the sawdust, or with the water used for cleaning or wiping 
furniture and walls? 

86. What cleaning is done in the long vacation? 

What painting, whitewashing, or calcimining 

87. Are there bath-rooms? 

Sufficient to meet the needs of pupils? 

88. Are they provided with attendants? 

89. Does the principal consider the present cleaning sufficient? 

90. Has he made any effort to have the number of cleanings 

increased? 

91. Has he made estimates with additional outside labor, such 

as is used in office-buildings, etc 

92. What contagious diseases have prevailed among the pupils 

during the past year? 

93. Was the illness probably caused 

(a) By conditions at home? 

(b) By conditions at school? 

(c) Was it of uncertain origin? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 177 

94. How many deaths of registered pupils during the year 1900- 

1901? 

Remarks 



ROOM BLANK 

1. Specify the room by number, and by the name of the 

teacher in charge 

2. Size of room? Length? 

Width? Height? 

3. What is the total air space of the room? 

4. The number of pupils it was built to accommodate? 

5. The number it usually does accommodate? 

6. Have any of the pupils belonging to this district been 

refused admittance on account of lack of room? 

How many are still out on that account? 

7. Are the seats adj ustable, or of different sizes, to accommodate 

the large and smaller pupils? 

8. How are the extra pupils seated? 

9. Are the pupils in close proximity to registers, or radiators, 

or cold-air flues, or loose windows? 

10. Is there sun in the room at any time during the day? 

What part, and how long? 

11. Are there any complaints of unpleasant odors from halls or 

flues, or windows? 

12. How many windows in the room? 

What is their size? 

How far from the floor? 

How far from the ceiling? 

13. Are they at the side, rear, or front of the room? 

14. Is the light sufficient on a bright day? 

On a cloudy day? 

If not sufficient, how often and how long is gas or electricity 

used? 

15. Has the teacher noticed any trouble with the children's eyes, 

which might come from insufficient or wrongly placed 
light? 

16. Are blackboards placed between windows, or in the same 

wall with them? 

. Are such blackboards used, so as to require the children to 
look at them? 



178 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

17. Is there a thermometer, and where placed? 

How high above the floor? 

Does the teacher consult it frequently, or attempt to regu- 
late the temperature by it? 

What is the temperature desired? 

18. What is the average temperature? 

19. When the heat is diminished, is the amount of fresh air 

diminished? 

20. What is the size of the inlet for the warm air; that is, of the 

flue or pipe? 

Where situated? 

Is there more than one? 

21. What is the size of the outlet or outlets for foul air? 

Where situated? 

22. Are both inlets and outlets kept always wide open? 

Are draughts complained of? 

23. Do teachers supplement the regular system of ventilation 

by opening the windows at intervals? 

Where are the pupils in the meantime? 

24. Are the windows open at recess? 

Are the pupils required to leave the room at recess? 

25. Does the room seem stuffy or dusty? 

26. How often is the floor well swept? . „ 

27. How often are the windows washed? , 

28. How often is the room dusted? 

With feather dusters, or cloth? 

29. Are the seats and desks ever wiped with a damp cloth, with 

or without a disinfectant? 

30. Does the teacher ever hire extra cleaning done? 

What? 

Remarks by teacher, concerning ventilation, heat, health, 

"danger spots," or concerning other facts considered 
important 

SCHOOL-HOUSES 
(From New Jersey State Board of Health's Inspector's Guide) 

Building, how located as to elevation and drainage? 

Size of house? 

Is it brick or wood? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 179 

Has it a cellar or basement? 

If so, state its condition — whether wet, damp, dirty, dark, 
unventilated, cemented, or floored, etc.? 

Size of school-room? Give number, length, breadth, and 

height, that the cubic space may be computed? 

Is there an entry? 

Is room wainscoted? Kind of wall? 

Number of doors? 

How many windows? 

Size of windows and glass? 

Correct answers are necessary to ascertain lighting surface 

Distance from ceiling? 

Are the windows to the right or left, behind or in front of the 
scholars? . , 

What is the size of the yard? 

Is it fenced? 

Does water ever stand in the yard or beneath the house? 

Is it well heated, and how? Is there dust? Is 

water supplied to stove or furnace? 

Do you register by thermometer? Is temperature even? . 

Is it well ventilated, and how? If by ventilating registers, 

state whether they are in ceiling overhead, or in flues at 

bottom or top of room, or both Also, if there is any 

provision for allowing fresh air to enter the room? 

If by windows, have you ways of preventing draught? 

Are the blackboards placed between the windows? 

Blackboards, if possible, should be on side where there are no 
windows, on account of less reflection of light. 

Are the surfaces in good condition? 

What is the source of water-supply? 

If from wells, give depth Is there any privy vault, 

stable, sink-drain or cesspool near? See diagram, 

and mark, as nearly as possible, the distance in feet from such 
sources of pollution. 

Is the well protected from all surface pollution? 

Is the condition of the well carefully looked after? 

Are there two privies belonging to the school-house? 

How many feet from school-house? 

Are the buildings kept in good order? 

Have they vaults? 

How often cleansed or disinfected? 

How is it done? 



180 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Do trustees or others inspect buildings and school monthly? . . . 
Have you a janitor? 

If water-closets are in use, in what condition are they kept?... . 

Are they always flushed with an abundance of water? 

Are they odorless? 

Are there any offensive or dangerous nuisances near the school- 
house, such as barnyards, slaughter-houses, stagnant pools 
etc.? 

Is the law providing for vaccination attended to? 

Are pupils from families, where infectious or contagious diseases 
are prevailing, excluded from school? 

Are all the doors hung to swing outward, as the law requires?. . 

In what year was the school-house built? 

Is it a suitable house for the district? If not, state 

reason why Has it proper places for hanging garments, 

hats, etc.? 

Are the seats and desks fitted to the size of the scholars? 

How many pupils can be comfortably seated in the building? 
Is any room too crowded? 

What is thus far the average daily attendance this quarter? .... 

How many of your pupils are near-sighted? . . , 

Have you known pupils to become near-sighted while attending 
school? 

Are there curtains, or inside or outside blinds, to the win- 
dows? 

How and to what extent is either physiology or hygiene 
taught? 

Is there provision for hand and face-washing? 

General remarks as to needed improvements 



Questions on Sanitary Condition of School-houses 

(Wisconsin State Board of Health, 1879) 

Give your name, post-office, and location of school building 
upon which you report 

Describe as fully as possible the buildings in which you teach, 
or which are under your control; give the character of the 
soil on which they stand, presence of any marsh, or other 
stagnant water in the neighborhood, material of which they 
are built, their size, number of stories in each, number of 
rooms, number of cubic feet in each school-room 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 181 

Describe the entries, passages, and stairways, using rough 
diagrams if necessary, and give the height of each flight 
of stairs, as a whole, and the height and breadth of the 
steps 

Describe the study and recitation rooms, stating whether the 
walls are hard-finished, papered, white or tinted, giving the 
relative positions of blackboards and windows, the proportion 
of glass (excluding sash work) to floor surface, and any other 
particulars that may be needed to convey an accurate idea 
of all arrangements 

Are all seats and desks in each room of uniform height, or is 
allowance made for varying height and age of pupils? 

What is the whole number of pupils and what the number in each 
room? 

How are your school-rooms ventilated, and how many cubicf eet 

of air per hour is secured to each pupil? If there be 

any special system of ventilation, describe it fully 

Is the apparatus for ventilation in operation or in disuse? 

Is it satisfactory? 

How are your school-rooms warmed? Has the 

system of warming them any connection with that of ven- 
tilation? 

Is there any cellar or air space under the building? 

Is there any proper drainage system for the cellar or air space, 
if there be any, or any such system for the building and its 
site? 

Describe the school yard or playground, stating whether it is 
enclosed or open, paved or not, its area, etc.? 

Are there any rooms in the building into which the sun 

never enters? If so, for what purpose are they 

used 

From what direction do the pupils receive the light upon their 
work, i.e., right or left hand, front or rear, above or below 
the level of the eyes? 

Describe as clearly as possible all water-closets or privies, giving 
size, location, in or out doors, distance from main building, 
distance from pump or well, and the character of the vault, 
whether stoned or otherwise curbed? . 

Are the privies properly screened from observation and from the 

weather? If out doors, are they connected with the 

main building by covered ways? Is proper care taken 

to keep them dry, clean, warm, and generally comfortable?. . . 



182 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Are sufficient and separate privies provided for the accom- 
modation of the sexes, and is any special provision made for 
the needs of the youngest pupils? 

If hat and cloak closets are provided, what is their position with 
relation to the study-rooms? How are they warmed and 
ventilated, and is there any provision made for the drying of 
wet shoes, wrappers in wet weather? 

From what source is drinking-water obtained? Do you 

know or suspect any means by which the supply may be 
contaminated? 

In your opinion, does any large number of the children suffer 
from the effects of hard study? 

Is one sex more liable than the other to injury from this cause, 
and if yes, which? 

Does the advent of puberty increase such liability? . . 

Does the sight often suffer? 

What is the largest number of studies pursued by any one pupil? 
What proportion of your pupils are obliged to study out of 
school hours, and how much time is needed by an average 
student to prepare the amount of work required? 

What is the length of your daily session, and how is it divided? 

How frequent and long are your intermissions? Are 

the intermissions for older and younger pupils of the same 
length? 

What text-books on hygiene are in use in your school? 

What text-books on physiology? 

Is any instruction given in either of the above two subjects other 
than by text-book? 

What proportion of your pupils are studying them in any way? 

How can the physical condition of the pupils of our schools be 
improved, in your opinion? 

What, if any, means are used to prevent the spread of any con- 
tagious disease which may appear among the pupils in the 
school? 

Schedule for Sanitary Inspection of Hospitals 

No. of Report Date 

Name of hospital 

Location 

When built? 

Altitude above sea-level 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 183 

Area of grounds 

Are the grounds improved? 

Are there shade-trees? 

Character of soil? 

How is the drainage arranged? 

How is the building sewered? 

How are the sewers ventilated? 

General character of buildings 

How many buildings? 

Material of construction? 

Number of patients' beds? 

Number of wards? 

Floor area per bed? 

Cubic space per bed? 

How are the floors of wards finished? 

How are the walls of wards finished? 

How many windows in the ward? 

How are the windows placed? 

Do the doors open outward? 

How is the hospital heated? 

Ventilated? 

How are the wards ventilated? 

Where are the water-closets located? 

How many to each ward? 

Type of water-closet? 

Ventilation? 

Flushing? 

General sanitary condition? . . 

How many urinals? 

How many slopsinks? 

How many bathtubs? 

Are there any portable tubs? 

Are there any special tubs? 

Are there any vapor baths? 

How many lavatories? 

Where located? 

Ward kitchen? 

Ward dining-room? 

How many beds in ward? 

Character of furniture? 

Bedsteads? 

Mattresses? 



184 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Tables? 

Chairs? 

Medicine- trays? 

Spittoons? 

Ward physician's apartments, where located? 

Ward nurses, where located? 

Main kitchen, where located? 

Size? 

Floor? 

Walls? 

Ventilation? 

Kitchen furniture? 

Rooms for storage of food, condition of? 

Laundry where located? 

Size? 

Floor? 

Walls? 

Ventilation? 

Laundry appliances? 

Linen closets? 

Disinfecting apparatus? 

Is there a central bathing establishment? 

What special appliances does it contain? 

Dead house 

Operating theatre 

Other operating-rooms 

Patients' dispensary 

Pharmacy 

Inspection Schedule Relating to Hospitals 

(From Reports of New Jersey State Board of Health) 

Hospital, 

at 

Date of examination 

Location 

Area of grounds and altitude above sea-level 

Character of soil 

Arrangement of drainage 

Are sewers connected with drains? 

How are sewers ventilated? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 185 

Grease traps? 

How are the grounds improved, trees, etc.? 

General character of buildings 

Material of construction 

Date of erection 

Cost of buildings 

Number of beds for patients 

Wards, general character, number 

How many patients in a ward? 

Floor area per bed 

Cubic space per bed 

Ward floors 

Ward walls 

Ward windows 

Ward doors and blinds 

Ward heating 

Ward ventilation 

Ward water-closets 

Urinals, slopsinks i 

Ward baths 

Special baths 

Portable baths 

Lavatories, separate from baths? 

Ward kitchens 

Ward dining-rooms 

Ward furniture 



Mattresses 

Tables 

Chairs 

Spittoons 

Medicine-trays 

Bells 

Patients' clothing, how cared for? 

How registered? 

Ward physicians' rooms 

Ward nurses' rooms 

Special rooms or small wards connected with wards 

Nurses' duties 

Other ward attendants 

Main administration building 

Main office , 



186 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Visitors' reception rooms 

Rooms of president, physicians, and employees . . . 

Main kitchen 

Kitchen furniture 

Food storerooms 

Laundry 

Laundry appliances 

Number of laundresses 

Laundry records and registers 

Washing for employees 

Linen closets 

Mending 

Mattress rooms 

Disinfection apparatus 

Central bathing establishment 

Dead house 

Amphitheatre 

Out-door patients' dispensary 

Number treated per year 

Cost 

Dispensary and pharmacy 

Lifts 

Number of days' treatment of patients yearly .... 

Total annual cost 

Daily cost per patient 

Annual cost of employees 

Annual cost of repairs 

Annual cost of fuel, and quantity 

Annual cost of medicines and apparatus 

Annual cost of food 

How is the hospital governed? 

How are governors or trustees appointed? 

Superintendent : Duties, pay, how appointed? 

Nurses : Male, duties, how appointed, pay? , 

Cooks 

Porters 

Steward 

Clerks 

Matron , 

Nurses, female 

Rules for admission of patients , 

Place and mode of admission 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 187 

Rules for conduct of patients 

Registration of patients 

Registration of diseases 

Registration of beds 

Diet forms 

Permits to go out 

Rules for visitors ... 

Special wards 

Schedule of New Jersey State Board of Health for 
Inquiries Concerning Institutions 

(Other than Hospitals) 

No. of Report Date 



general 

Name of institution 

Location and post-office address 

Name and address of chief officer of physician 

Date of inspection Name of inspector 

Names and addresses of all managers 

Surrounding land and elevation above sea-level 

Character of soil in vicinity of buildings 

How many acres of land? Is there a topographical map? 

Is there a plan of all subsurface drains and other structures?. . . 

Have natural watercourses been turned or changed in any way? 

Is there any damming up of water for ponds, and if so, how near 

to the buildings? 

WATER-SUPPLY 

What is the system of water-supply? 

Give place, size, depth, character, and locality of any springs 

and wells . 

Are they open or closed, and what is the mode of getting water 

therefrom? 

Are any slops spilled or vessels rinsed about wells, or is the 

ground near in any way foul? 

Any other sources of water-supply? 

Is water introduced into buildings? 



188 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

If so, state each place, and each floor Is it by pump or 

by faucet? What kind of pump? 

Are there house-tanks?. . . .Of what material?. . . .Where does 

overflow discharge? 

Is it through lead pipes? Is there a cistern, and if so, 

where? Describe its construction? 

Is the water used for both drinking and general purposes and 

handy in case of fire? 

Is the supply of drinking-water abundant and satisfactory, and 

if not, state objection? 



BUILDINGS 

General character of buildings 

How many buildings are attached to the institution? 

Show diagram 

Size of buildings and material . 

Estimated value 

Date of erection? by whom owned? What addi- 
tions since, and when? 

Describe basement or cellar : How much above ground? 

Is it ventilated? Is it dry? Is it well lighted? 

How used? Is there kitchen or laundry in it? 

Does any one sleep in basement? If so, how many and 

who? Are vegetables stored in it? Is it fre- 
quently whitewashed? Is the floor watertight? 

Has it plastered walls and ceiling? Is there a milk 

cellar, and if so, describe it? 

Number of rooms? 

Number of bedrooms? Average size of bedrooms? 

Number of occupants? Floor space? Cubic space? .. 

Size of rooms and height of ceiling on first floor? On 

second floor Third floor? 

Describe attic What is the finish of walls in buildings? 

Are any rooms wainscoted? 

Is the number and size of windows enough for air and fight? 

How near to ceilings are windows? Do windows let 

down from top? 

How is admission of sunlight regulated — by shutters, blinds, or 
curtains? 

Does the sun shine into all rooms sometime during the day?. .'. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 189 



PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE 

Number, location, and description of all drainage fixtures 

Are all water-closet apartments well lighted and ventilated?. . . 

What is the method of disposal for waste fluids? 

How are the drain-pipes and sewers ventilated? 

Is there a trap and fresh-air inlet on the main drain? 

Describe trap ventilation 

Any earth-closets? 

Any privy vaults? 

Location Size Construction 

When excavated? Condition 

State the material, size, and mode of laying all terra-cotta drains? 

Sizes and construction of iron drain-pipes? 

Is the flow ever sluggish? 

Is there a grease trap on the premises? 

Is each fixture adequately trapped? Describe the traps? . 

Number of water-closets? ventilation? flushing? 

General sanitary condition? 

Number of bathtubs? 

How is sewage disposed of? 

Any cesspools? 

Location Size Construction 

Ventilation? When excavated? 

Frequency of excavation? Disposal of contents? .... 

Do water-closets discharge into cesspools? 

Are any waste fluids cast upon the surface of the ground? 

VENTILATION AND HEATING 

What is the system of ventilation? - 



Is there any provision for changing the air of rooms during cold 

weather? 

What is the method of heating? 

Are all rooms sufficiently heated? 



How many inmates are there in all? 

How many males over 16 years? 

How many females over 16? 

How many inmates from 12 to 16? ... . 
How many inmates between 5 and 12? 



190 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

How many inmates under 5 years of age? 

How many of the inmates were born in the institution? 

How many the last year? 

How many of these have been vaccinated within 5 years? . . . 

Have all adults been vaccinated within ten years? 

What are the facilities for the usual hand and face washing of 

inmates? 

What are the towel arrangements? 

What for bathtub bathing with warm water? . . 

What are the regulations as to baths, and how fully are they 

carried out? 

Is a list kept of those who have had a full bath, and how often? 

and of those who are washed by others? 

Is the hair of inmates kept properly cut and cleansed? ........ 

Is there a regular system of changing underclothing? 

How and where is laundry work and ironing work done? 

Is there any system by which new suits of plain outside clothing 
are furnished to the inmates, and by which clothing long worn 

is cleansed by airing or heating? 

Is there a separate place or hospital for those taken sick, or are 

persons attended in their rooms? 

Describe hospital and asylum arrangement. 

When a new inmate is presented what facilities are there for 
thorough cleansing before admission to the general rooms, 
or for separation for a few days, in case of any suspected 

sickness? 

Have there been any accidents since the last report? 

If so, what? 

Are the inmates fed at a common table? 

Is there a regular dietary for each day? 

If so, append it to this report. 

Are the bedsteads wood or iron? 

Give size of bedsteads? 

What form of mattress is used, and how often aired and 

changed? 

Does each inmate have a separate bed? 

Is the bed linen changed each week? 

How often are all contents of rooms, and especially bedrooms, 
moved out and the rooms scrubbed and whitewashed, as in 

general house-cleaning? 

What system, besides ordinary house-cleaning, is provided for 
cleansing and varnishing the furniture? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 191 

What fire-escapes, buckets, extinguishers or other provision 
in case of fire? 

What is the method of lighting? 

Is any register kept of inmates as to habits, cause of depend- 
ence, mental condition? 

What is the allotted cubic space per inmate? 

Is there any oversight of or inquiry into the physical condition 
of inmates? 

Is there a record of causes or history of the cases of those bed- 
ridden or fully incapable of work? 

What was the per capita expense of maintenance last year?. . . . 

What is the plan of outdoor relief, if any? 

What was its cost last year? 

Any insane paupers? 

How many are demented or foolish or epileptic? 

How many such are harmless? 

How many are violent? 

How many should be kept separate? 

What are the arrangements for separation of males and 
females? 

What are the nursing arrangements? 

What is the medical attendance? 

Does the physician come at stated times or only when sent for? 

How much is paid him per year? 

How are medicines furnished? 

What changes are needed in any present arrangements? 

What was the number of deaths and their causes last year?. . 

Is there any system of employment of the inmates? 

What is the discipline and oversight of the attendants? 

Is any special industry followed? 

If so, give particulars? 

Is it profitable or merely for occupation? 

How many inmates have tobacco furnished them? 

How many have opium furnished them? 

What was the tobacco bill last year? 

What was the liquor bill? 

What was the quinine bill? 

What are the arrangements for schooling the children? 

Are any apprenticed out, and at what age? 

Are homes sought for any not apprenticed? 

What provisions are there for amusements and for reading 
matter for inmates? 



192 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



INQUIRIES SPECIALLY FOR JAILS 

Have any been detained as witnesses during the last year, and 
how long? Give particulars? , , 

What system have you for receiving the excretions of the body 
during night? What in case of sickness? 

What are the chances for sunlight to enter cells and corridors?. . 

Are prisoners allowed to wash and smoke in the cells? 

Cubic space for each cell? 

What chance for change of air in cells? 

If prisoners are taken ill during night, how is aid summoned? . . 

Size of windows in cells Size of doors 



Theatre Inspections and Surveys 

A survey or inspection of a theatre may be made 
from three view-points, all of which are important. 
One may consider the building as to its construction 
and safety from, and as to the means of protection 
against, fire; or one may consider the theatre chiefly as 
to the safety of the persons in it when a fire or panic 
breaks out; and thirdly, one may wish to ascertain the 
sanitary condition of the building, its plumbing, drain- 
age, and water-supply. 

The schedule given below makes an attempt to cover 
all three features, and may be used in the preparation 
of annual or special reports on conditions in existing 
theatres, a matter which should never be delayed or 
postponed until a theatre fire catastrophe like the one 
of the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, on December 30, 
1903, occurs. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 193 



Schedule for Theatre Inspections 

In General. 

City Name of theatre Owner 

Location of theatre •. . . When built? 

Date of inspection 

Surroundings 

Total seating capacity 

Parquet . . , Boxes 

Balcony Gallery 

Maximum standing admission permitted 

Building, constructed of 

Quick-burning semi-burning 

Incombustible 

Construction op Building. — Auditorium Section: 

Walls brick wood 

concrete reinforced concrete. . . . 

Is the thickness of main walls in accordance with Building 

Department requirements? 

Interior walls and partitions, how constructed? 

Roof joisted steep 

flat incombustible 

How is the roof covered? sheet metal copper 

tiles slate shingles tar and gravel?.. 

Floors : basement -\ 

auditorium | wood or incombustible. 

attic J 

Attic: how used? how large? vacant? 

used for storage? 

Auditorium? dangerous rooms connected with it, 

furnishings and finish: dangerous, fair, good, safe?. . . 

Is there a roof garden? Is there a stage on roof 

garden? 

Basement : how used? 

Smoking-room 

Toilet-rooms 

Plenum chamber of ventilating apparatus 

Passages 

Are there any dressing-rooms belonging to stage section? 

Structural iron work? 

Is all iron work encased and well protected? 



194 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Stage Section: 

Is the proscenium wall of brick from basement to 

roof? 

Does it extend above roof? 

What is the size of main stage opening? 

What is the number and size of other openings? 

Are openings protected by fire-doors? 

Are fire-doors of wood? Of wood lined with tin?. . . 

Are fire-doors of iron? 

Is the fire curtain of asbestos? . ... Is it of steel? 

Is the steel protected or not? 

Does it run in iron guides or grooves? 

How is the curtain suspended? .... By steel wire cables? 

How is curtain operated? By hand power? . . . 

Is power hydraulic? electric? ... ...... 

How often is fire-proof curtain used? 

From where is it operated? fly-gallery? stage? 

manager's office? 

Walls of stage house : Are they of brick? 

Roof: what is its construction? steep or flat? 

combustible or incombustible?. . . .How covered?. . 

Gridiron: Is it of wood? Is it fireproof? 

Vent-flues for stage (see section /). 

Fly-galleries: how constructed? 

Stairs: are they of wood? Are they incombustible? 

Fire-escapes: where placed and how many? 

Dressing-rooms : are there any on galleries? 

are there any in understage? 

Stage basement: how occupied? . . . .how used? 

For storage? for dressing-rooms? . 

Are there any toilet-rooms? Is it vacant? 

Exit doors for stage house : where located? Where 

do they lead to? Can they cause dangerous 

draughts? 

Scenery. (See section /) . 

Foyers, Lobbies, Stairs, Exits. 

What is the construction of the floors? 

What is material and construction of stairs? 

Outside Windows: 

Are all outside windows arranged to open? 

Are any outside windows obstructed by iron grillage?. . . . 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 195 

Dressing-room Section: 

Are the dressing-rooms in a brick building? sepa- 
rated from stage house by fire-walls and fire-doors? .... 
Property-room: 

Are any costumes made in the theatre? 

Where are the costumes stored? 

Basement. 

Carpenter and Paint Shops: 

Are they in a detached building? 

Is ever any scene painting done in theatre? 

Attic: 

How used? , 

C. Sanitation: 
(a) Auditorium: 

What is the condition of the plumbing in the toilet- 
rooms? 

Who looks after these rooms? 

Are the toilet-rooms ventilated? How? 

Are disinfectants used for the fixtures? 

Is the plumbing in general arranged in accordance with 

best modern rules of house drainage? 

Is there adequate water-closet and urinal accommoda- 
tion? 

Are there in the auditorium any outside windows for 

" air flushing? " 

How often are the chairs or seats cleaned and dusted?. 
Are there floor carpets? .... How often are they cleaned? 
(6) Stage: 

Where are the stage dressing-rooms located? 

Are they sanitary and well arranged? 

What is the condition of the lavatories in dressing- 
rooms? 

Have these basins hot and cold water? 

Have the dressing-rooms windows to the outer air?. . . . 

What is the average size of the dressing-rooms? 

In what condition are the actors' water-closet accom- 
modations? 

Are they separate for men and women? 

Is the plumbing open or boxed up? 

Are there any gas leaks? 

How often is the floor of the stage swept? 

Is the stage ventilated? 



196 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

(c) Drainage and Plumbing: 

Are the areas and courts properly and sufficiently 
drained? 

Are the soil-pipes carried the full size to the roof? 

Are basins and sinks properly and separately trapped? 

Are there any pan-closets, or other old types of mechan- 
ical water-closets? 

Are the urinals flushed automatically? 

(d) Domestic Water-supply: 

Is the house supply entirely separate from the supply 
for fire-extinguishing purposes? 

Is any water for house use drawn from the sprinkler- 
tank? 

Is there a hot- water tank? Is there a house tank? 

Size and capacity? 

Is the drinking-water filtered?. . . .What filter is used? 

Is the ice for cooling the water kept separate from the 
water? 

(e) Ventilation: 

Where is the fresh-air supply for the heating apparatus 
taken from? 

Are the inside courts or alleys kept clean? 

What is, in general, the system of ventilation? 

Natural? mechanical? 

Is it a plenum or an exhaust system? 

Is the downward system of ventilation used? 

or the upward system? 

(/) Under stage: 

Are the main sewer and drain-pipes exposed? 

Are they defective and leaky? 

Are there any untrapped floor cesspools? 

How is the floor of understage drained, if below the level 

of the sewer in street? 

Is the cellar made watertight? 

(g) Lighting: 

Is the lighting of the theatre by gas or by elec- 
tricity? 

Is there a separate auxiliary lighting system for halls, 
stairs, and exits? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 197 

(h) General Sanitary Condition: 

Is the boiler and engine room ventilated? How? . . . 

Where are oily wastes kept? 

Are there any accumulations of dirt and rubbish? 

How is the dusting done? 

How is the sweeping done? 

How is the furniture finished? leather cane? 

upholstery? 

How are the aisles covered? 

What flooring is there in the stairs and lobbies? 

Is a vacuum cleaning apparatus installed? 

D. Water-supply for Fire Protection: 

What is the average pressure in the street main? 

What is the size of the water-supply main in the 

street? 

How far is the main from building? 

How many fire-lrydrants are there outside of the build- 
ing, in the theatre block? 

What is the size of the service-pipe for water to the 

theatre? 

Is there a water-meter on the line? 

If so, is it bye-passed? 

Is there a suction-tank or suction-reservoir? 

How many inside fire standpipes are there? 

How many in the auditorium? 

How many on the stage? 

How many elsewhere? 

What is the inside diameter of the standpipes? 

What is the size of the fire-valves? 

How many feet of fire hose to each fire-valve? 

What is the character of the fire hose? 

Make brand condition 

How are the standpipes supplied? 

How many tanks are there for fire protection? 

Where located size capacity. . 

How are they supplied? 

Is there a fire-pump? 

Type rotary direct-acting under- 
writer pattern steam or electric? 

What is the capacity of fire-pump per minute? .... 
. . Number of fire-streams? 



198 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

What is boiler pressure? Make • 

location suction from? 

How often operated and tested? 

Are there one or more outside fire department connec- 
tions? 

Is there an automatic sprinkler system? 

What part of the building does it protect? Roof, 

stage, under gridiron, fly-galleries, dressing-rooms, 

smoking-room, attic over auditorium? 

Basement? 

How is it arranged? 

How is it supplied? 

Gravity or pressure tank? 

State capacity and size of tank? 

How is tank kept filled? 

How is the tank supported? 

Is there a perforated pipe over the proscenium open- 
ing? 

How many fire-pails or buckets are there? ...... Where 

located? 

Number of pails in auditorium? 

Number of pails on stage? 

Number of pails in cellar? 

Are the pails kept filled? 

Are there casks or tanks of water? Where located? 

Are there chemical or pneumatic portable fire extin- 
guishers? 

How many? Where located? 

How many in auditorium? on stage? 

Make? capacity? 

Are there any portable pumps? 

E. Apparatus for Extinguishing Fires: 

Is there telephonic connection with the fire department? 
with police department? with the nearest fire- 
engine house? 

Are there outside fire-department connections for the 
standpipes? for the sprinklers? 

Is there a regular theatre fire brigade? 

How is it organized? 

Is it well and regularly drilled? 

Is its discipline good? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 199 

Are city firemen detailed for inspection of the theatre 
during performances? How many? 

To whom do they report? 

Is there a fire-alarm box? Where located? 

At main entrance? 

On stage? 

In manager's office? 

Is there a theatre fire-alarm system? 

Describe 

Are there any life-saving appliances kept in theatre?. . 

Jumping net? Rope fire-escape? 

Are woolen blankets or asbestos sheets kept on stage? 
Are any long poles and wet sponges kept on stage?. . . 

How many fire axes or hatchets? Where kept? .... 

Are there any small dry-powder extinguishers? 

Means for Egress for Players and Theatre-goers. — 
Ways of Egress. 

How many separate and distinct ways of egress are 
there for each division of the audience? 

Main floor? 

Balcony? 

Gallery? 

Stage? 

Dressing-rooms? 

How many of these ways are used regularly as entrances 

and exits? 

How many, if any, are " emergency " exits? 

Are all exits, including emergency exits, opened at the 

close of each performance? 

Are exits properly lettered and distinguished by red 

lights? 

Are the exits of proper width? 

Are they free from all obstruction? 

Do any of the ways of egress converge or cross at any 

point causing congestion or crowding? 

Are the public exits separate from the stage entrance?. 
Are there any passages or doors likely to be mistaken 

by public for exits? 

What is the distance for each division of audience to the 

the street by way of the exits? 

Have the fire-escapes any doors opening across them so 

as to obstruct them? 



200 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Exit Doors: 

Do all exit doors open outward? 

Are the door bolts so arranged that they can be opened 
by a slight pressure from behind? 

Do any of the exit doors obstruct a free passage? 

How many exit doors in front? 

How many at sides? 

How many at rear? 

Are more exits required for the safety of life? 

How many minutes does it require to empty the building 

completely? 

Seats and Aisles: 

What is the distance between rows of seats? 

What is the width of seats? 

What is the width of the aisles? Are they 

straight? Tapering? 

Are there any steps in the aisles? or gradients?. . . 

Are the slopes of the aisles excessive? In balcony? 

In gallery? 

Are there any exit doors opposite the ends of the aisles? 

Are the aisles clear and unobstructed? 

Are camp chairs permitted in aisles during perform- 
ances? 

Foyers or Lobbies: 

Have each of the tiers or divisions for the audience a 
lobby or foyer? 

Are these foyers separated from the auditorium by fire- 
walls? 

Do the lobbies surround the division which they serve? 

What is the floor area of the lobbies? 

Are they equal in area to the division of the audito- 
rium which they serve? 



Are the passages dark or well lighted? 

Is there danger of smoke reaching the passage ways to 

the street? 

Outside Fire-escapes: 

Are the outside fire-escapes of iron or wood? 

What width are they? 

Would they be exposed to the flames of a fire? 

Are they covered over so that ice or snow may not 
render them impassable in winter? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 201 

How many are there? 

Where located? 

Are they well placed and easily reached? 

Are they sufficiently strong? 

Stairways: 

How many stairs are there for the balcony? 

How many for the upper gallery? 

What is the width of stairs? 

Are there any landings? Any winding steps? . . . 

Are the stairs well lighted? How? 

Are the staircases free and unobstructed? 

0. Heating Apparatus: 

Is boiler in basement? Is the boiler in a separate 

building? 

Is steam-boiler in a fire-proof enclosure or in a vault? .... 
What is the system of heating the building? 

Hot-air furnace? 

Steam heating? 

Hot-water heating? . . 

Is the plenum chamber of ventilating apparatus well cut 

off? 

H. Lighting: 

How is the theatre lighted j 

By oil-lamps? 

By gas? 

By electric lights? 

Are oil-lamps used on the stage in performances? 

What kind? Glass? Metal? 

What gas is used? 

City gas? 

Private plant? 

Acetylene lighting? 

What is the size of gas service to building? 

Is there a cut-off gas-valve outside of building? 

Is there a shut-off inside? 

Where is the gas-meter located? 

Is the gas vault ventilated to the outer air? 

How is lighting of stage done? 

How is the auditorium lighted? 

Are the two systems separate and independent? 

How are the dressing-rooms lighted? . .... 

How are the stairs and exits lighted? 



202 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Are there red lights at all the exits? 

Is electric current obtained from outside? 

Is there a separate electric lighting plant? 

Is the wiring done according to approved rules? 

Is calcium light used during performances?' 

Any other special light? 

Are movable electric lights used on stage? 

If gas, are the flames open or guarded? 

Are stage fires used? Where are the materials for 

same stored? 

Are movable table-lamps used in plays? 

How are the exits lighted? oil? candles? 

independent electric current? 

What restrictions, if any, are imposed in the use of 

matches? 

Is the theatre lighting system approved by Board of Fire 

Underwriters? 

Are all open gas flames well protected? 

/. Scenery and Stage Apparatus: 

Is the scenery rendered uninflammable by chemical treat- 
ment? 

What treatment is used? 

Is the curtain of asbestos? of canvas?. . . .treated? 

Where is scenery not in use stored? 

Is there a separate building for scenery? 

J. Ventilators for Auditorium and Stage Roofs: 

Are there any ventilators or automatic skylight for the 

stage roof? 

What is their size? construction? area?. . 

Are they automatic? 

How do they operate? Are they reliable? 

How often are they tested? 

Are there means to open them from the stage? or 

from rigging loft? 

Are there exhaust ventilators over the auditorium? 

How are these arranged? 

K. Watchman: 

Is there a night-watchman? What are the hours 

when he is to be on duty? 

Is there a watchman's clock? Where are the sta- 
tions located? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 203 

Are there stations on the stage? in fly-galleries? 

in rigging loft? in engine-room? 

in property room? repair shop? paint 

shop? smoking-room? and in each 

division of the auditorium? 

Is the watchman's service thoroughly reliable? 

L. Maintenance of Cleanliness and Order: 

Where are waste sweepings and rubbish stored? 

Are there metal-covered receptacles for them? 

Are they removed daily? 

Note maintenance of cleanliness in auditorium in 

dressing-rooms on stage in property . . . 

room .... in refreshment room .... in lavatories .... 

toilet-rooms in boiler-room in cellar 

in wardrobes carpenter shop in machine 

shop in stairways in fire-escapes? 

M. Inspections: 

Is there kept a book to enter complaints? 

How often is the theatre inspected? 

Who makes the inspection? 

Date of last inspection? 

N. Tests: 

Test of fire-protection apparatus? 

Test of sprinkler system 

Test of fire-proof curtain 

Test of auditorium roof ventilation 

Test of gas-piping 

Test of plumbing 

Test to determine time required to empty the building. . . 
0. Exposure to Fire from Outside: 

What is the fire hazard of the building with regard to 

neighboring properties or buildings? 

Is the theatre protected against fire exposure from outside? 
P. Summary and Conclusions: 

What is the condition of the building in respect to risk 
of life? 
Use marks as follows: 
(I) for "excellent;" 
(II) for "good;" 

(III) for "fair;" 

(IV) for "poor;" 
(V) for "bad;" 

(VI) for "very dangerous." 



204 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

What is the condition of building as regards safety of 
building? 

What is the character of building as regards sanitation, 
cleanliness, and good order? 

What is the character of the water-supply? 

What is the fire service as regards the theatre? 

What is the character of building as regards quick means 

for exit or egress in case of panic or fire? 

Recommendations : 

A. Recommendations tending to protection of life in building. 

B. Recommendations tending to protection of building and 

its contents. 



Sanitary Inspection of Dairies 

When we consider the important bearing which some 
special types of buildings have upon the health of a 
community, it will be readily seen how broad becomes 
the field of work for an efficient and competent sanitary 
inspector. 

Among such special buildings I mention the bake- 
houses or bakeries, which come under the supervision 
of the municipal health board, but also under the State 
factory law; the slaughter-houses, which come under 
Municipal, State, and Governmental inspection; the 
steam laundries, the common lodging-houses, the river 
steamers, and canal boats, and finally, the dairies and 
cow-sheds, which are subject to inspection by the 
health boards of the cities which they supply with milk, 
but also under the general inspection of the TJ. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture. 

As the purity of the milk-supply is of especial im- 
portance in the case of typhoid and other epidemics, I 
give, in the following, two municipal, one State, and 
one Government schedule for the inspection of farm 
dairies. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 205 

I. Rochester Bureau of Health. — Division of Milk 

Inspection 

Inspector Date 19 . . 

Name Town P.O. address 

Marketed Size of stable containing fresh cows 

dry cows 

Separate place for calving 

Separate building for sick cows 

Health and comfort of cows 

Tuberculosis test 

Location on hill or slope 

Window space for each cow 

Efficient system of ventilation 

Cubic feet of air for each cow (450 counts 10, for each 25 feet less 

take off 1) 

Food 

Water clean 

Cleanliness of cows 

Shavings for bedding 

Clean stalls and passageways 

Barnyard and pasture clean 

Presence of cobwebs, of dust, of odors 

Good cleaning of utensils 

Sterilizing of utensils 

Plentiful supply of water 

Location and protection of source 

Inside of utensils kept free from dust after sterilizing ......... 

Small top pail 

Health of employees 

Wearing clean washable suit 

Washing and drying hands before and during milking 

Washing udder 

Discarding foremilk ! 

Prompt and efficient cooling in an hour to I At . ""' '", „_ 

r & 1 45 counts 35, etc. 

Holding milk at low temperature in transportation 

Sanitary condition of milkroom 

Protection by lock or seal from opening cans 



206 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



II. Department of Health, City of New York 

Dairy inspection Division of inspections 

Inspection No Time a. or p.m. Date .... 19 . . 

Tenant P.O. address 

Township County State 

Owner Party interviewed 

Milk delivered at Since 

Formerly delivered at , 

Creamery on R.R Branch Miles to N. Y. 

Creamery operated by Address 

Distance of farm from creamery Occupied farm since. . 

No. of cows Breed No. milking 

Quarts of milk produced 

All persons in the households of those engaged in producing or 

handling milk are free from all infectious disease 

Date and nature of last case on farm 

A sample of the water-supply on this farm taken for analysis 

and found to be 

Size of cow barn, length width height 

(ceiling) 

Stable: 

Cow stable is located on elevated ground with no 

stagnant water, hogpen, or privy within 100 feet . 

Floors are constructed of concrete or some non-absorb- 
ent material 

Floors are properly graded and watertight 

Drops are constructed of concrete, stone, or some 

non-absorbent material 

Drops are watertight 

Feeding-troughs, platforms or cribs are well lighted 

and clean 

Ceiling is constructed of and is tight and dust 

proof 

Ceiling is free from hanging straw, dirt or cobwebs 

Number of windows total square feet which is 

sufficient 

Window panes are washed and kept clean 

Ventilation consists of 

which is sufficient, or fair, or insufficient 

Air space is cubic feet per cow, which is suffi- 
cient 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 207 

Interior of stable painted or whitewashed on which is 

satisfactory fair never 

Walls and ledges are free from dirt, dust, manure or 

cobwebs 

Floors and premises are free from dirt, rubbish or 

decayed animal or vegetable matter 

Cow beds are clean 

Live stock, other than cows, are excluded from rooms 

in which milch-cows are kept 

There is direct opening from barn into silo or grain pit. 

Bedding is clean, dry, and absorbent 

Separate building is provided for cows when calving. . . 

Separate quarters are provided for cows when calving . . 

Manure is removed daily to at least 200 feet from the 

barn 

Manure pile is so located that the cows cannot get at it. 

Liquid matter is absorbed and removed daily and 

allowed to overflow and saturate ground under or around 
cow barn 

Running water-supply for washing stables is located 

within building 

Dairy rules of the Department of Health are posted. 

Cowyard: 

Cowyard is properly graded and drained 

Cowyard is clean, dry, and free from manure 

Cows: 

Cows have been examined by veterinarian Date 

Report made 

Cows have been tested by tuberculin, and all tuber- 
culous cows removed 

Cows are all in good flesh and condition at time of in- 
spection 

Cows are all free from clinging manure and dirt 

Long hairs are kept short on belly, flanks, udder, and 

tail 

Udder and teats of cows are thoroughly cleaned 

before milking 

All feed is of good quality and all grain and coarse 

fodders are free from dirt and mould 

Distillery waste or any substance in a state of fermentation or 
putrefaction is fed 

Water-supply for cows is unpolluted and plentiful. 



208 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Milkers and Milking: 

Attendants are in good physical condition. 

Special milking suits are used. 

Clothing of milkers is clean. 

Hands of milkers are washed clean before milking. 

Milking is done with dry hands. 

Foremilk or first few streams from each teat is discarded. 

Milk is strained at and in clean atmosphere. 

Milk-strainer is clean. 

Milk is cooled to below 50° F. within two hours after 

milking and kept below 50° F. until delivered to the 
creamery. 

Milk from cows within fifteen days before or five days after 

parturition is discarded. 

Utensils: 

Milk-pails have all seams soldered flush. 

Milk-pails are of the small-mouthed design, top open- 
ing not exceeding 8 inches in diameter. Diameter 

Milk-pails are rinsed with cold water immediately 

after using and washed clean with hot water and washing 
solution. 

Drying racks are .... provided to expose milk-pails to the sun. 
Milkhouse: 

Milkhouse is located on elevated ground with no hog- 
pen, manure pile or privy within 100 feet. 

Milk has direct communication with building. 

Milkhouse has sufficient light and ventilation. 

Floor is properly graded and watertight. 

Milkhouse is free from dirt, rubbish and all material 

not used in the handling and storage of milk. 

Milkhouse has running or still supply of pure clean water. 

Ice is used for cooling milk and is cut from 

Water: 

Water-supply for utensils is from a located 

feet deep and apparently is pure, wholesome and 

uncontaminated. 

Is protected against flood or surface drainage? 

There is privy or cesspool within 250 ft. of source of 

water-supply. 

There is a stable, barnyard or pile of manure or other 

source of contamination within 200 ft. of source of water- 
supply. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 209 



III. U. S. Department of Agriculture. — Bureau op 
Animal Industry — Dairy Division 

sanitary inspection of dairies 

Owner or lessee of farm Town State 

Total number of cows Number milking 

Quarts of milk produced daily 

Is product sold at wholesale or at retail? 

If shipped to dealer give his name and address? 

Permit No Date of inspection 19 ... . 

Cows: 

Condition health cleanliness .... water-supply. 

Stables: 

Construction cleanliness light ventilation . . 

Cubic space per cow removal of manure stable 

yard 

Milkhouse: 

Construction equipment cleanliness care 

and cleanliness of utensils water-supply (temperature?) 

Milkers and Milking: 

Health of attendants cleanliness of milking 

Handling the Milk: 

Prompt and efficient cooling temperature of milk .... 

storing at low temperature Protection during trans- 
portation 

Sanitary Conditions are: 

Excellent good fair poor 

Suggestions by inspector 

Signed inspector. 

Directions for Scoring 

IV. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 

State Board of Health 

inspection of dairies 

City or town Date 

Name of owner Time of visit 

Number of cows Number of cow stables 



210 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Condition of cows: (1) as to health 

(2) as to cleanliness 

If any cows are sick, note same on 
reverse side of blank 

Condition of Cow Stables: 

Construction Approximate cubic space per cow 

Means of ventilation Condition as to light 

Nature of floor of cow stalls Means of drainage .... 

Are the cows bedded? If so, with what? 

Where is manure stored? How often removed? . 

Is hay stored where cows are kept? Are horses kept in 

same stable? 

General condition as to cleanliness 

Water-supply: 

Source of supply (a) for watering stock (b) for washing 

cans 

Distance of latter from (a) stable (6) possible source 

of pollution 

Direction of ground level from each such source 

Milk: 

Are the udders cleaned before milking? If so, how? 

How is the milk cooled? 

Where is it cooled and handled? Where is it stored?. . . . 

Where are cans, etc., washed? Where kept during milk- 
ing? 

Has the owner an ice-house? Is ice easily obtainable in 

the vicinity? 

How much milk is sold? To whom is it shipped? 

How far is it hauled for delivery? At what hours is it 

hauled? 

If delivered at a railway station, how long a time is likely to 

elapse before it is taken into the car? 

Signature 

Inspector. 

Memoranda as to diseased cows: 

Name and number of cow? Condition 

Remarks : 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 211 



Sanitary Surveys of Cities and Towns 

The sanitary survey of cities and towns is of the 
highest importance, and it should be made at least 
every five years, under the direction of the municipal 
health department, assisted by the city engineering 
department. The principal topics which such a sur- 
vey should embrace are the drainage and sewerage sys- 
tem, the water-supply, the lighting, the conduits for 
water, gas, electric current in public streets, the care 
of the streets and squares, the collection and disposal 
of garbage and ashes, inspections of inhabited houses, 
of hospitals and public bath-houses, of the markets and 
slaughter-houses. 

An excellent example of what such a survey should 
be, may be found in the Annual Report of the National 
Board of Health for 1879, in Appendix H, which gives 
the sanitary survey of Jersey City, Hoboken, and 
Bayonne, N. J. 

Other surveys of cities are described in some sup- 
plemental reports of the same board for 1880, and 
refer to the city of Memphis, Tenn., and to the city of 
Baltimore, Md. Very good and complete sanitary 
surveys of Camden, N. J., and of Newark, N. J., may be 
referred to in the New Jersey State Board of Health 
reports for 1880 and 1884. 

When a city is threatened with an epidemic, a special 
sanitary inquiry should be instituted,* and in the 
schedule for the survey special attention should be 
given to matters like the following: Location, topog- 
raphy, and area of the city; population and number of 
buildings; chief industries; drainage and sewerage; 

* See "Sanitary Engineering," by Wm. Paul Gerhard. Second, 
revised and enlarged edition, 1909. 



212 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

water and milk supplies; collection and removal of 
garbage and rubbish; to the isolation hospitals and the 
disinfection station. The board of health should direct 
the disinfection of houses where infectious disease has 
occurred. The sources of infection should be traced 
and measures taken to limit the spread of the disease. 
A correct census should be kept of the number of per- 
sons taken sick, and of the number of deaths from the 
epidemic. 

The subject is a broad one and cannot be adequately- 
treated in a small handbook. In the following I give 
a schedule for sanitary inspections of cities, which was 
originally prepared by the National Board of Health, 
of which the late Col. George E. Waring, Jr., was a 
prominent member. I have shortened some of its 
sections and inserted a few new ones. 



Schedule for Sanitary Surveys of Cities 

A. Location, Population, and Climate: 

Name of city county and State 

Location latitude and longitude 

Area of city 

When was city founded? 

When was it incorporated? 

Give population according to U. S. census in 

1860. . . .1870. . . .1880. . . .1890. . . .1900 Present 

(estimated) 

What is the density of population? 

What is the estimated population under five years of age? 

Give population according to whether native or foreign 

born? 

according to whether white or colored? 

What is the number of dwelling-houses of city? 

What is the average number of persons to each dwelling? 
Have meteorological observations been kept regularly in 

the city? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 213 

Who made the observations? Have they been 

published? 

B. Topography and Geology: 

Altitude of city? on what authority? 

Give highest and lowest elevations? 

Is the surrounding country level or hilly? 

Are there any marshes, low lands, or swamps near city?. . 

State if any of the city land is filled or made land? 

Are there any mountains near city; if so, what is the 

altitude? 

Is the site of the city level? hilly? 

Are there any covered up watercourses in the city? 

Have any original watercourses been diverted from their 

course, or modified? 

State if there are any ponds or other stagnant water?. . . . 

What is the distance of the city from tide- water? 

State the character of the soil and of the subsoil? 

Describe any rivers, lakes or canals in the city limits? .... 

Are they affected at all by the tides? 

Is the water of the streams clean or foul? 

Does any foul surface drainage or sewage enter any of the 

streams? 

Is any part of the city subject to overflows, and to what 

degree? 

To what geological formation does the site of the city and 

vicinity belong? 

What are the underlying geologic strata? 

Are they permeable or impermeable to water? 

Does the disturbance of the surface soil cause malaria? . . 

C. Water-Supply: 

Describe the sources of water-supply for the city? 

Describe the character and degree of purity of the supply . 
Give chemical and bacteriological analyses if obtainable. 
What are the physical characteristics of the water-supply? 
What is the distance from the source of supply to the city? 
How is the water brought to the city? 

Gravity conduits? Pumping? 

State capacity of the conduit? of the pumps?. . . . 

How many reservoirs are there? 

State capacity of each its location. . . .elevation. 



214 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Do the waterworks comprise filtration works? 

What is the average consumption in million gallons per 

day? 

What is maximum consumption? 

What is the average daily consumption per capita? 

What is the average water pressure in the city? 

What is the maximum? 

How many fire-hydrants does the city have? 

How many public fountains? 

How many house connections or taps? 

Are the house services metered generally or what 

is the proportion of metered to unmetered taps? .... 

To what extent, if any, is cistern or well water used in the 
city? 

What is the average depth of the wells? 

Are the wells dug, driven, drilled or bored? 

Are there any artesian wells in the city? 

Has the use of well-water caused any sickness?. 

How many public baths? What kind and type? 

What is average daily water consumption of the bath- 
houses? 

D. Drainage and Sewerage: 

What is the proportion of closely built-up area compared 
with the open or suburban area? 

What is the character of the surface drainage? 

Is any subsoil drainage provided How is it ar- 
ranged? 

Are cellars in any part of the city subject to overflow or 
flooding during or after heavy rainstorms? 

Does the city have a regular system of sewerage? 

Furnish sewerage map 

Is the city sewered on the combined system? on 

the separate system? or on a combination of 

both? 

Give the mileage of sewers 

Give the number of sewer outfalls 

State their size 

Where do the sewer outfalls discharge? 

Are the city sewers self-cleansing? 

Are flush-tanks used? 

What proportion of the area of the city lacks sewerage?. . 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 215 

State the number of house connections? 

Describe the manner in which the house connections are 

made in the street? 

How are the street sewers ventilated? 

Is the plumbing and drainage work in the houses governed 

by rules and regulations? 

Are sewer connections compulsory where a street has been 

sewered? 

Are any cesspools tolerated? If so, how are they 

constructed? 

Describe any other methods of disposal of the waste liquids 

from houses? 

Is there any regular system of sewage disposal? 

What system of sewage disposal is in use? 

Describe its chief features' 1 

Are any odors ever noticed from the sewer openings? .... 
Are odors perceptible at the sewage purification works? . . 

E. Streets and Public Grounds: 

Give the total number of miles of streets? 

State how many miles are paved with granite stones? .... 

With asphalt? 

With macadam? 

With cobble-stones? 

With wood? 

With asphalt paving-blocks? 

With any other artificial pavements? 

What is the usual width of the streets? 

What is the width of the sidewalks? How are they 

finished? 

Are the streets regularly cleaned by the city? 

Are they sprinkled in summer? 

Is the street-cleaning method satisfactory? 

Is hand labor used exclusively? 

Are any sweeping-machines used? 

Are shade-trees planted along the streets? 

What kind? How arranged? 

Does the asphalt pavement injure the trees? 

Are the trees unfavorably affected by leakage from gas 

mains? 

Who cares for the trees in the streets? 

State number and area of all public parks? 



216 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

How many smaller open squares are within the city 
limits? 

Are there any grade crossings in the city? 

How many lives lost annually by them? 

Is there a municipal sti 3et railway system, or are the lines 

owned by private companies or corporations? 

How many companies are there? 

What system of electric traction is used? 

State the number of accidents on trolley lines per year. . . 

F. Habitations and their Tenants: 

How many dwelling-houses are there in the city? 

How many office-buildings? How many factory 

buildings? 

How many public buildings? 

What proportion of dwellings is occupied by the owners? 

How many tenement-houses are in the city? 

What is the average number of persons to a dwelling?. . . . 

Does the city have a building department? 

Are there any building regulations? 

Are the rules enforced, and is there a regular system of 

inspection? 

How many dwellings are connected with the sewers? 
How many houses are connected with the water mains?. . 
Do any houses use wells, springs or rain-water cisterns for 

supply? 

How many detached buildings? How many houses 

in blocks? 

Do any of the houses have damp or wet cellars? 

Are the floors of the cellars cemented? 

What is the usual height of the dwelling-houses? 

How many houses in the city are without bathtub? 

How are the yards kept? 

G. Lighting: 

Is the city lighted by gas? 

Is the city lighted by gas and electric lights? 

Describe the location of the gas works? 

Is the gas plant owned by a private corporation or by the 

city? 

How many miles of gas street mains? 

What kind of gas is supplied to the users? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 217 

What is the price charged by 1000 cubic feet of gas? 

Is the quality of the gas supplied satisfactory? 

Is it tested by municipal inspectors or gas-testers? .... 

What proportion of dwelling-houses are supplied with gas? 

How many gas accidents have occurred within a year?. . . 

Is the city lighted up by electric light? 

Who owns the electric-light works? 

Municipal or private plant? 

What is the capacity of the plant? 

What is the price charged for electricity, for lighting? .... 

What is the price charged for electric current for power 
purposes? 

Are streets, squares and parks lighted by electricity? .... 

Which is the better system of street lighting, gas or 
electric? • 

How many electric lamps are there in the streets? 

How many accidents have occurred in a year from the 
use of the electric current? 

Other modes of lighting oil in lamps gaso- 
lene lamps 

Is there an acetylene lighting plant? 

H. Garbage and Refuse Disposal: 

Is the household garbage removed by the municipality? . . 

Is it removed at private expense? 

How often is the garbage removed? how often the 

ashes? 

Is garbage removed in covered vessels or carts? 

Are ashes and garbage kept separate by ordinance? 

What is the cost per annum of the removal? 

Where are the ashes disposed of? 

What is done with the garbage? 

Any reduction plants? 

Any refuse destructors? 

Do large hotels and department stores have their separate 

refuse destructors? 

Which city department takes care of the removal of dead 

animals? 

How are the carcasses disposed of? 

Is the work done satisfactorily? 

Are any houses still served by cesspools? If so, 

what proportion? 



218 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

What is the construction of these cesspools? 

leaching? water-tight? 

Are any cesspools with overflows to sewers permitted?. . . 
Are there municipal rules regarding the construction of 

cesspools? 

How often are the cesspools cleaned out? 

Are the methods pursued satisfactory? 

Are there any privy vaults attached to houses? 

How many? 

Where are the vaults located? 

Are there any municipal rules regarding the construction 

of the vaults? 

J. Markets: 

How many public markets does the city have? 

What is the size and area of each of them? 

Where are the markets located? 

How many buildings does each market contain? 

Describe construction and arrangement of the markets? . . 

Are the market stalls rented by the city? 

What is the average rental per year? 

On how many days of the week are the markets open? . . . 
Are the markets kept in a cleanly and sanitary condition? 
What are the rules in force regarding the cleaning of the 

buildings? 

How often are the markets inspected and by whom?. . . . 
What are the principal transportation routes for the fresh 

food supplies brought to the markets? 



!. Slaughter-} 

How many slaughter-houses are located in the city? .... 

Are they built by the municipality or by private owners? 

Are there municipal rules and regulations in force regard- 
ing the slaughter-houses? 

What is the location of the slaughter-houses with reference 
to the city plan? 

What is the condition of the water-supply and sewerage of 
the buildings? 

What is the mode of killing the animals? 

What is done with the offal? 

Is any nuisance to the neighborhood caused by the 
slaughter-houses? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 219 

What is the average annual number of animals slaughtered 
at the abattoirs? Of each kind? 

Is there any fat-rendering establishment at the abattoir? . . 

How are the noxious gases from same disposed of? 

Are private slaughter-houses permitted in the city? 

What is the average annual rental of the slaughtering 
stalls to butchers? 

Is there any official meat inspection at the abattoirs?. . . . 

Is there a cold-storage plant connected with the abattoir? 

A'. Manufactures and Trades: 

Are there located within the city limits any manufacturing 
establishments which constitute a nuisance? 

Do any of the factories pollute the water-courses? 

Do any of the manufacturing establishments create offense 
to the public by being unduly noisy? 

What are the hours of labor? 

Is there any factory inspection law? Is it enforced? 

How is the ventilation of the factories? 

L School-houses: 

How many public schools are there in the city? 

Where are they located? 

State for each of the schools the following: 

Location altitude and area of site nature of 

soil drainage date of erection cost of 

building number of stories number of 

rooms number of pupils 

(See special school schedule for the following subjects:) 

Material of construction heating apparatus .... 

ventilation system daylight lighting 

artificial lighting cloak-rooms basement 

playrooms toilets water-supply 

drinking-fountains hours of study 

Is there a medical inspection of the school? 

Are school baths installed? 

What are the results obtained with them? 

Do the schools have a gymnasium? Do they have 

playgrounds? 

Are the water-closets located within or without the build- 
ings? 



220 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

L. Public Libraries, Museums, Art Galleries: 

Is there any public library in the city? How is it 

maintained? 

How many volumes has it? 

Is there any public museum or art gallery? 

M . Theatres, Churches, Amusement Halls, and other Public Build- 
ings: 

(For these see the special schedules.) 
N. Hospitals: 

(For these see also the special schedule.) 

State the number of hospitals in the city? 

Give their location with reference to the city plan? 

How many patients do each accommodate? 

How many physicians are employed? 

Does the hospital have an ambulance service? 

Are any of the hospitals overcrowded? 

0. Prisons, Jails, and Police Stations: 

How many policemen are on the force? 

Do some of them act as sanitary inspectors? 

How many police stations are there? 

How many prisoners' cells in each? 

What is the sanitary condition of the police cells? 

What is the average daily number of prisoners? 

Are the prison cells well ventilated? 

Are there water-closets in the cells? 

Where are the lavatories located? 

Are there any spray baths for the prisoners? 

How are the police cells heated? 

Is there a police matron? Is there a police sur- 
geon? 

Have there been any outbreaks of epidemic diseases in the 

prisons? 

How are the prison inmates occupied? 

What is the estimated number of prostitutes in the city?. 

Is there any medical inspection of prostitutes? 

How many drinking-saloons are there in the city? 

Are there any dance halls? 

How many cases of drunkenness are brought before police 

courts per year? 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 221 

P. Public and People's Bath-houses: 

Is there a municipal system of public baths? 

How many public bath-houses does the city have? 

Where are they located? What was their cost?. . . 

How many bath units in each bath-house? 

What is the prevailing form of bath? 

Tub baths? Spray or rain baths? 

Are any swimming-pools connected with public baths? .... 

Do the swimming-pools have cleansing baths? 

If city is located on a river, lake or the ocean, how many 
floating municipal bath establishments are there? . . . 

Are the city bath-houses self-supporting? 

Is any admission fee charged? If so, how much? .... 

Q. Fire Department: 

Is there a municipal paid fire department? 

Is the fire service performed by volunteers? 

How many fire- and engine-house stations are there in the 
city? 

Does the fire department control the construction of build- 
ings? 

How many steam fire-engines does .the city own? 

How many hook and ladder companies? 

Is the water-supply for fire purposes satisfactory? 

If city is on a river, lake or harbor, are there city fire- 
boats? 

Is there an auxiliary high-pressure system? 

Is salt-water used for fire-extinguishing purposes? 

How many firemen are employed in the fire department? 

Is there an insurance patrol service for saving property? . . 

What is the average annual number of fires? 

What is the average annual property loss by fire? 

What is the annual loss of lives by fire? 

What are the chief causes of fires? 

How many fire-alarm boxes has the city? 

Public Parks and Boulevards: 

What is the total acreage of public parks? 

Where are they located? 

Are public parks and squares kept in good condition? .... 



222 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Are there any comfort stations in the parks and squares?. 

How many? What is their condition? 

Who maintains them? 

R. Cemeteries and Modes of Burial: 

Are there any cemeteries within the city limits? 

State total number of cemeteries near the city? 

Are they private concerns or municipal? 

State location of cemeteries? 

Describe soil in the cemeteries 

Is it well and thoroughly underdrained? 

What is the usual average depth of the graves ? 

What is the number of burials per year? 

Are all burials recorded in the health office? 

Are other modes of burial permitted or practised? 

S. Public Health Laivs and Ordinances. 

T. Vital Statistics of the City: 

Are births and deaths recorded? 

What is the annual number of deaths? 

What is the annual number of births? 

What is the birth-rate? 

What is the death-rate? 

What is the average increase per annum in population of 
the city? 

U. Diseases of the Year and Epidemics. 

V. Disinfection: 

Does the city have a municipal disinfecting station? 

Who operates the plant and under whose control is the 

same? 

Where is it located? 

What method of disinfection is practised? 

Are houses in which epidemic disease occurred disinfected 

before any new tenants move in? 

At whose expense is the disinfection done? 

W. Municipal Sanitary Expenses: 
Total annual appropriation: 

For sanitary purposes? . 

For sewerage and drainage purposes? , , , 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 223 

For street paving? 

For street cleaning? 

For removal of garbage and ashes? 

For care of markets? 

For municipal abattoirs? 

For care of public parks and fountains? 

For public comfort stations? 

For lighting? 

For fire department services? 

For police department services? 

For building department services? 

For other interesting questions on municipal institu- 
tions and engineering, I refer to Prof. Charles Zueblin's 
valuable work, entitled " American Municipal Progress," 
published in 1902. 



224 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 



Necessity of Periodical Inspection 

In conclusion I desire to emphasize the necessity 
of a periodical inspection of the sanitary condition of all 
kinds of buildings. It is not sufficient to spend once a 
large amount of money to put the sanitary arrange- 
ments in a good condition. Constant supervision and 
thought are required to keep everything in good order. 
Professor Fleming Jenkin of Edinburgh, who gave the 
first impetus towards the establishment of sanitary 
associations, thus forcibly explains the necessity of 
periodic inspection : — 

"It is not enough to call in the engineer, and have 
all put in the best order once in a way. This is, indeed, 
very necessary in most cases, — how necessary, few 
know; but when it has been done, the inspection must 
be maintained. The case is quite analogous to that 
of a steam-boiler. We must, in the first instance, 
provide ourselves with a good article, designed by 
competent engineers, and experimentally tested; but 
we must also pay competent men to come year after 
year, and examine whether any deterioration has oc- 
curred." 

If a householder or the mistress of a house will take 
the pains to keep themselves well informed about sani- 
tary matters, and to understand the chief points which 
should be inquired into, they will often be able to per- 
form such an inspection themselves, after a house has 
been once properly arranged and built; it might even 
be advantageous to combine such an inspection with 
the annually recurring house-cleaning, and not to wait 
until some noxious smells indicate that the plumbing 
has become defective, or that other serious defects 
exist. As Col. Waring has truly said, — 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 225 

"It is not unusual for a householder, unless his house 
fairly stinks, to consider it as 'sweet as a rose,' and to 
rest happy in the conviction that it is perfectly healthy. 
The truth is, that a foul odor is not in itself poisonous. 
When it exists in a house, it indicates a source of foul- 
ness which may also be a source of disease. But, un- 
fortunately, the source of disease may, and often does, 
exist without obvious bad smells. The fainter odors 
which more often accompany dangerous emanations 
are not perceptible to those who live constantly subject 
to them. To one fresh from the country, they are 
almost always obvious in an average city house." 

House owners are much too apt to postpone a sani- 
tary inspection until a severe case of illness in the 
family, or a death from one of the preventable diseases, 
opens their eyes to the dangers to which they are ex- 
posed. To send for an expert after a fatal case of 
illness, might well be compared with the calling-in of an 
inspecting engineer after a steam-boiler explosion has 
occurred. 

If, in making a sanitary house-inspection, it is con- 
sidered impracticable to remove tight woodwork, rip 
up floors, cut up walls, dig holes, so as to clearly expose 
every fixture, trap, and every foot of waste or vent- 
pipe, and to gain access to the interior of drains, or to 
make sure that no old cesspools exist under a house, 
the results of the examination will enable the inspector 
to make a general or preliminary report only. It is, 
however, always better to make a thorough examina- 
tion; and a complete report of the sanitary inspection 
of a dwelling should contain: (1) a general statement 
describing the sanitary condition of a building at the 
time of the inspection; (2) a detailed statement of the 
sanitary defects discovered, with reasons why the 
arrangements are faulty; (3) a detailed recommenda- 



226 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

tion of improvements to be made to put a house in a 
proper and healthful condition. 

To sum up, no house should be purchased or leased, 
in the city or in the country, the sanitary condition of 
which has not been carefully examined into, and its 
fitness for occupancy certified, by some well-educated, 
disinterested professional man. 

There is not the slightest doubt, that if the public 
will thus insist upon healthful surroundings and salu- 
brious buildings, a greater attention will soon be paid 
by landlords and builders to the important questions 
of drainage and plumbing, heating and ventilating, 
lighting and safety from fire, water-supply, and dis- 
posal of sewage. 

A healthful home having been once secured, it becomes 
the sacred duty of the householder to inquire at fre- 
quent intervals into its continued good sanitary condi- 
tion. To aid the householder in the search for such 
structural defects as may endanger the health of his 
household is one of the objects of this — Guide to Sanitary 
Inspections. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 227 



BIBLIOGRAPHY ON SANITARY SURVEYS AND 
INSPECTIONS 

I. Books 

The Choice of a Dwelling. Gervaise Wheeler. London, 1871. 

Sanitary Assurance. F. de Chaumont. London, 1881. 

Hints to Househunters and Householders. Ernest Turner. 

London, 1883. 
Handbook of Sanitary Information. Rogers Tracy. New 

York, 1884. 
Sanitary Arrangements of Dwellinghouses. M. H. Judge. 

London, 1884. 
A Guide to Sanitary House Inspection. Wm. Paul Gerhard. 

New York, 1885. 
Practical Hints on Taking a House. H. P. Boulnois. London, 

1885. 
Home Sanitation. A Manual for Housekeepers. Boston, 1887. 
Health Inspector's Guide. New Jersey State Board of Health. 

Trenton, 1890. 
Model Answers to Questions for Examination of Sanitary In- 
spectors. Compiled from the Sanitary Record. London, 

1893. 
Drainage Work and Sanitary Fittings. W. H. Maxwell. Lon- 
don, 1895. 
Hygienisches Taschenbuch. E. von Esmarch. Berlin, 1896. 
Plumbers' Textbook. F. W. Tower. Springfield, 1897. 
Hygienische Winke fuer Wohnungssuchende. E. von Esmarch. 

Berlin, 1897. 
House Drainage: Its Inspection and Testing. R. J. Jenkins. 

London, 1898. 
Modern Drainage Inspection and Sanitary Surveys. G. J. G. 

Jensen. London, 1899. 
Architectural Hygiene. B. and H. P. Fletcher. London, 

1899. 
House Drainage and Sanitary Fitments. G. J. G. Jensen. 

London, 1900. 
Questions and Answers on the Practice and Theory of Sanitary 

Plumbing. H. M. Starbuck. Hartford, 1900. 
Handbook on Sanitation. George M. Price. New York, 1901. 



228 GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 

Sanitary Fittings and Plumbing. G. L. Sutcliffe. London, 
1901. 

The Sanitary Inspector's Guide. Henry Lemmoin-Cannon. 
London, 1902. 

Sanitation in the Modern Home. Edited by John K. Allen. 
Chicago, 1907. 

Testing Drainage, Plumbing and Gas- Piping. John K. Allen. 
Chicago, 1907. 

Guide to Sanitary Inspections. Wm. Paul Gerhard. New- 
York, 1909. (Revised and enlarged edition of A Guide to 
Sanitary House Inspection.) 



II. Pamphlets and Articles 

House Inspection. F. Jenkin. London, 1881. 

Testing House Drains before and after Occupation. Amer. 

Architect. 1882. 
Sanitary Inspection of Houses. W. K. Burton. Reprint from 

The Sanitary Record. 1883. 
Drain Testing. H. Masters. Amer. Architect. 1884. 
Inspecting and Testing the Sanitary Arrangements in Houses. 

J. Spencer. Amer. Architect. 1884. 
The Sanitary Survey of a House. W. K. Newton. Concord, 

1885. 
Qualifications and Duties of Sanitary Inspectors. F. W. Barry. 

Wakefield, 1892. 
The Pneumatic Test. Frederic Tudor. Boston, 1892. 
Sanitary Inspection of the State Institutions. Report of 

State Board of Health of North Carolina. Wilmington, N. C, 

1895. 
Suggested Standard for Drain Testing. Gilbert Thomson. 

1898. 
A Few Words on the Sanitary Arrangements of Houses. 
Practical Drain Inspection. C. H. Clarke. London, Ley ton. 
Sanitary Inspection Work and How to Organize it. J. R. Kaye. 

London, 1901. 



GUIDE TO SANITARY INSPECTIONS 229 



III. Inspection Blanks 

The Sanitary Engineer's Pocket Report Book. Spon and 

Chamberlain, Publ., N. Y. 
Sanitary Inspection Note Book. G. J. G. Jensen. London. 
Sanitary Inspection of Houses and Premises in Cities, Towns, 

etc. Circular LII. N. J. State Board of Health. 
Sanitary Survey of School Houses. Circular LV, State Board 

of Health of N. J. 
Institutional Inquiry into Sanitary Condition, Circular LXXVIII 

State Board of Health of N. J. 
Schedule for Hospital Inspection. National Board of Health. 
Schedule of Questions for a Sanitary Survey of Cities. National 

Board of Health. Washington, 18S0. 



SHORT-TITLE CATALOGUE 

OF THE 

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OF 

JOHN WILEY & SONS, 

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London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited. 



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* Penfield's Notes on Determinative Mineralogy and Record of Mineral Tests. 

8vo, paper, 50 
Tables of Minerals, Including the Use of Minerals and Statistics of 

Domestic Production 8vo, 1 00 

Pictet's Alkaloids and their Chemical Constitution. (Biddle.) 8vo, 5 00 

Poole's Calorific Power of Fuels 8vo, 3 00 

Prescott and Winslow's Elements of Water Bacteriology, with Special Refer- 
ence to Sanitary Water Analysis nmo, 1 50 

* Reisig's Guide to Piece-dyeing 8vo, 25 00 

Richards and Woodman's Air, Water, and Food from a Sanitary Standpoint. .8vo, 2 00 

Ricketts and Miller's Notes on Assaying 8vo, 3 00 

Rideal's Disinfection and the Preservation of Food 8vo, 4 00 

Sewage and the Bacterial Purification of Sewage 8vo, 4 00 

Riggs's Elementary Manual for the Chemical Laboratory 8vo, 1 25 

Robine and Lenglen's Cyanide Industry. (Le Clerc.) 8vo, 4 00 

Ruddiman's Incompatibilities in Prescriptions 8vo, 2 00 

Whys in Pharmacy nmo, 1 00 



Ruer's Elements of Metallography. (Mathewson). (In Preparation.) 

Sabin's Industrial and Artistic Technology of Paints and Varnish 8vo, 3 00 

Salkowski's Physiological and Pathological Chemistry. (Orndorff.) 8vo, 2 50 

Schimpf's Essentials of Volumetric Analysis i2mo, 1 25 

* Qualitative Chemical Analysis 8vo, 1 25 

Text-book of Volumetric Analysis i2mo, 2 50 

Smith's Lecture Notes on Chemistry for Dental Students 8vo, 2 50 

Spencer's Handbook for Cane Sugar Manufacturers i6mo, mor. 3 00 

Handbook for Chemists of Beet-sugar Houses i6mo, mor. 3 00 

Stockbridge's Rocks and Soils 8vo, 2 50 

* Tillman's Descriptive General Chemistry 8vo, 3 00 

* Elementary Lessons in Heat 8vo, 1 50 

Treadwell's Qualitative Analysis. (Hall.) 8vo, 3 00 

Quantitative Analysis. (Hall.) 8vo, 4 00 

Turneaure and Russell's Public Water-supplies 8vo, 5 00 

Van Deventer's Physical Chemistry for Beginners. (Boltwood.) nmo, 1 50 

Venable's Methods and Devices for Bacterial Treatment of Sewage 8vo, 3 00 

Ward and Whipple's Freshwater Biology. (In Press.) 

Ware's Beet-sugar Manufacture and Refining. Vol. I Small 8vo, 4 00 

Vol.11 Small8vo, 5 co 

Washington's Manual of the Chemical Analysis of Rocks, 8vo, 2 00 

* Weaver's Military Explosives 8vo, 3 00 

Wells's Laboratory Guide in Qualitative Chemical Analysis 8vo, 1 50 

Short Course in Inorganic Qualitative Chemical Analysis for Engineering 

Students i2mo, 1 50 

Text-book of Chemical Arithmetic nmo, 1 25 

Whipple's Microscopy of Drinking-water 8vo, 3 50 

Wilson's Chlorination Process nmo 1 50 

Cyanide Processes i2mo 1 50 

Winton's Microscopy of Vegetable Foods 8vo 7 50 



CIVIL ENGINEERING. 

BRIDGES AND ROOFS. HYDRAULICS. MATERIALS OF ENGINEER- 
ING. RAILWAY ENGINEERING. 

Baker's Engineers' Surveying Instruments nmo, 3 00 

Bixby's Graphical Computing Table Paper 10^X24^ inches. 25 

Breed and Hosmer's Principles and Practice of Surveying 8vo, 3 00 

* Burr's Ancient and Modern Engineering and the Isthmian Canal 8vo, 3 50 

Comstock's Field Astronomy for Engineers 8vo, 2 50 

* Corthell's Allowable Pressures on Deep Foundations i2mo, 1 25 

Crandall's Text-book on Geodesy and Least Squares 8vo, 3 00 

Davis's Elevation and Stadia Tables 8vo, 1 00 

Elliott's Engineering for Land Drainage i2mo, 1 50 

Practical Farm Drainage nmo, 1 00 

*Fiebeger's Treatise on Civil Engineering 8vo, 5 00 

Flemer's Phototopographic Methods and Instruments 8vo, 5 00 

Folwell's Sewerage. (Designing and Maintenance.) 8vo, 3 00 

Freitag's Architectural Engineering 8vo, 3 50 

French and Ives's Stereotomy 8vo, 2 50 

Goodhue's Municipal Improvements nmo, 1 50 

Gore's Elements of Geodesy 8vo, 2 50 

* Hauch and Rice's Tables of Quantities for Preliminary Estimates, i2mo, 1 25 

Hayford's Text-book of Geodetic Astronomy 8vo, 3 00 

Hering's Ready Reference Tables (Conversion Factors) i6mo, mor. 2 50 

Howe's Retaining Walls for Earth nmo, I 25 



* Ives's Adjustments of the Engineer's Transit and Level i6mo, Bds. 25 

Ives and Hilts's Problems in Surveying i6mo, mor. 1 50 

Johnson's (J. B.) Theory and Practice of Surveying Small 8vo, 4 00 

Johnson's (L. J.) Statics by Algebraic and Graphic Methods 8vo, 2 00 

Kinnicutt, Winslow and Pratt's Purification of Sewage. (In Preparation). 
Laplace's Philosophical Essay on Probabilities. (Truscott and Emory.) 

i2mo, 2 00 

Mahan's Descriptive Geometry 8vo, 1 50 

Treatise on Civil Engineering. (1873.) (Wood.) 8vo, 5 00 

Merriman's Elements of Precise Surveying and Geodesy 8vo, 2 50 

Merriman and Brooks's Handbook for Surveyors i6mo, mor. 2 00 

Morrison's Elements of Highway Engineering. (In Press.) 

Nugent's Plane Surveying 8vo, 3 50 

Ogden's Sewer Design i2mo, 2 00 

Parsons's Disposal of Municipal Refuse 8vo, 2 00 

Patton's Treatise on Civil Engineering 8vo, half leather, 7 50 

Reed's Topographical Drawing and Sketching 4to, 5 00 

Rideal's Sewage and the Bacterial Purification of Sewage 8vo, 4 00 

Riemer's Shaft-sinking under Difficult Conditions. (Corning and Peele.) . .Svo, 3 00 

Siebert and Biggin's Modern Stone-cutting and Masonry 8vo, 1 50 

Smith's Manual of Topographical Drawing. (McMillan.) 8vo, 2 50 

Soper's Air and Ventilation of Subways. (In Press.) 

Tracy's Plane Surveying l6mo, mor. 3 00 

* Trautwine's Civil Engineer's Pocket-book i6mo, mor. 5 00 

Venable's Garbage Crematories in America 8vo, 2 00 

Methods and Devices for Bacterial Treatment of Sewage 8vo, 3 00 

Wait's Engineering and Architectural Jurisprudence 8vo, 6 00 

Sheep, 6 50 

Law of Contracts 8vo, 3 00 

Law of Operations Preliminary to Construction in Engineering and Archi- 
tecture : 8vo, 5 00 

Sheep, 5 50 

Warren's Stereotomy — Problems in Stone-cutting 8vo, 2 50 

* Waterbury's Vest-Pocket Hand-book of Mathematics for Engineers. 

2|X5s finches, mor. 1 00 
Webb's Problems in the Use and Adjustment of Engineering Instruments. 

i6mo, mor. 1 25 

Wilson's Topographic Surveying 8vo, 3 50 

BRIDGES AND ROOFS. 

Boiler's Practical Treatise on the Construction of Iron Highway Bridges. 8vo, 2 00 

Burr and Falk's Design and Construction of Metallic Bridges 8vo, 5 00 

Influence Lines for Bridge and Roof Computations 8vo, 3 00 

Du Bois's Mechanics of Engineering. Vol. II Small 4to, 10 00 

Foster's Treatise on Wooden Trestle Bridges 4to, 5 00 

Fowler's Ordinary Foundations 8vo, 3 50 

French and Ives's Stereotomy 8vo, 2 50 

Greene's Arches in Wood, Iron, and Stone Svo, 2 50 

Bridge Trusses 8vo, 2 50 

Roof Trusses 8vo, 1 25 

Grimm's Secondary Stresses in Bridge Trusses 8vo, 2 50 

Heller's Stresses in Structures and the Accompany in Deformations 8vo, 

Howe's Design of Simple Roof-trusses in Wood and Steel 8vo, 2 00 

Symmetrical Masonry Arches 8vo, 2 50 

Treatise on Arches 8vo, 4 00 

Johnson, Bryan, and Turneaure's Theory and Practice in the Designing of 

Modern Framed Structures Small 4to, 10 00 

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Merriman and Jacoby's Text-book on Roofs and Bridges: 

Part I. Stresses in Simple Trusses 8vo, 

Part II. Graphic Statics 8vo, 

Part III. Bridge Design 8vo, 

Part IV. Higher Structures 8vo, 

Morison's Memphis Bridge Oblong 4to, 

Sondericker's Graphic Statics, with Applications to Trusses, Beams, and Arches. 

8vo, 

Waddell's De Pontibus, Pocket-book for Bridge Engineers i6mo, mor, 

* Specifications for Steel Bridges nmo, 

Waddelland Harrington's Bridge Engineering. (In Preparation.) 

Wright's Designing of Draw-spans. Two parts in one volume 8vo, 



HYDRAULICS. 

Barnes's Ice Formation 8vo, 3 00 

Bazin's Experiments upon the Contraction of the Liquid Vein Issuing from 

an Orifice. (Trautwine.) 8vo, 2 00 

Bovey's Treatise on Hydraulics . .8vo, 5 00 

Church's Diagrams of Mean Velocity of Water in Open Channels. 

Oblong 4to, paper, 1 50 

Hydraulic Motors 8vo, 2 00 

Mechanics of Engineering 8vo, 6 00 

Coffin's Graphical Solution of Hydraulic Problems i6mo, morocco, 2 50 

Flather's Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power 12 mo, 3 00 

Folwell's Water-supply Engineering 8vo, 4 00 

Frizell's Water-power 8vo, 5 00 

Fuertes's Water and Public Health nmo, 1 50 

Water-filtration Works nmo, 2 50 

Ganguillet and Kutter's General Formula for the '"Uniform Flow of Water in 

Rivers and Other Channels. (Hering and Trautwine.) 8vo, 4 00 

Hazen's Clean Water and How to Get It Large i2mo, 1 5o 

Filtration of Public Water-supplies 8vo, 3 00 

Hazlehurst's Towers and Tanks for Water- works 8vo, 2 50 

Herschel's 115 Experiments on the Carrying Capacity of Large, Riveted, Metal 

Conduits 8vo, 2 00 

Hoyt and Grover's River Discharge 8vo, 2 00 

Hubbard and Kiersted's Water-works Management and Maintenance 8vo, 4 vo 

* Lyndon's Development and Electrical Distribution of Water Power. . . .8vo, 3 00 
Mason's Water-supply. (Considered Principally from a Sanitary Standpoint.) 

8vo, 4 00 

Merriman's Treatise on Hydraulics 8vo, 5 00 

* Michie's Elements of Analytical Mechanics 8vo, 4 00 

Molitor's Hydraulics of Rivers, Weirs and Sluices. (In Press.) 

Schuyler's Reservoirs for Irrigation, Water-power, and Domestic Water- 
supply Large 8vo, 5 00 

* Thomas and Watt's Improvement of Rivers 4to, 6 00 

Turneaure and Russell's Public Water-supplies 8vo, 5 00 

Wegmann's Design and Construction of Dams. 5th Ed., enlarged 4to, 6 00 

' Water-supply of the City of New York from 1658 to 1895 4to, 10 00 

Whipple's Value of Pure Water Large nmo, 1 00 

Williams and Hazen's Hydraulic Tables 8vo, 1 50 

Wilson's Irrigation Engineering Small 8vo, 4 00 

Wolff's Windmill as a Prime Mover 8vo, 3 00 

Wood's Elements of Analytical Mechanics 8vo, 3 00 

Turbines 8vo, 2 50 



MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING. 

Baker's Roads and Pavements 8vo, 5 00 

Treatise on Masonry Construction 8vo, 5 00 

Birkmire's Architectural Iron and Steel 8vo, 3 50 

Compound Riveted Girders as Applied in Buildings 8vo, 2 00 

Black's United States Public Works Oblong 4to, 5 00 

Bleininger's Manufacture of Hydraulic Cement. (In Preparation.) 

* Bovey's Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures .. . .8vo, 7 50 

Burr's Elasticity and Resistance of the Materials of Engineering 8vo, 7 50 

Byrne's Highway Construction 8vo, 5 00 

Inspection of the Materials and Workmanship Employed in Construction. 

i6mo, 3 00 

Church's Mechanics of Engineering 8vo, 6 00 

Du Bois's Mechanics of Engineering. 

Vol. I. Kinematics, Statics, Kinetics Small 4to, 7 50 

Vol. II. The Stresses in Framed Structures, Strength of Materials and 

Theory of Flexures Small 4to, 10 00 

♦Eckel's Cements, Limes, and Plasters 8vo, 6 00 

Stone and Clay Products used in Engineering. (In Preparation.) 

Fowler's Ordinary Foundations 8vo, 3 50 

Graves's Forest Mensuration 8vo, 4 00 

Green's Principles of American Forestry i2mo, 1 so 

* Greene's Structural Mechanics 8vo, 2 50 

Holly and Ladd's Analysis of Mixed Paints, Color Pigments and Varnislies 

Large i2mo, 2 50 

Johnson's Materials of Construction Large 8vo, 6 00 

Keep's Cast Iron 8vo, 2 50 

Kidder's Architects and Builders' Pocket-book i6mo, 5 00 

Lanza's Applied Mechanics 8vo, 7 50 

Maire's Modern Pigments and their Vehicles nmo, 2 00 

Martens's Handbook on Testing Materials. (Henning.) 2 vols 8vo, 7 50 

Maurer's Technical Mechanics 8vo, 4 00 

Merrill's Stones for Building and Decor£*tion 8vo, 5 00 

Merriman's Mechanics of Materials 8vo, 5 00 

* Strength of Materials nmo, 1 00 

Metcalf's Steel. A Manual for Steel-users nmo, 2 00 

Patton's Practical Treatise on Foundations 8vo, 5 00 

Rice's Concrete Block Manufacture - - 8vo, 2 00 

Richardson's Modern Asphalt Pavements ... 8vo, 3 00 

Richey's Handbook for Superintendents of Construction i6mo, mor., 4 00 

* Ries's Clays: Their Occurrence, Properties, and Uses 8vo, 5 00 

Sabin's Industrial and Artistic Technology of Paints and Varnish 8vc, 3 00 

*Schwarz's Longleaf Pine in Virgin Forest.. i2mo, 1 25 

Snow's Principal Species of Wood 8vo, 3 50 

Spalding's Hydraulic Cement i2mo, 2 00 

Text-book on Roads and Pavements i2mo, 2 00 

Taylor and Thompson's Treatise on Concrete, Plain and Reinforced 8vo, 5 00 

Thurston's Materials of Engineering. In Three Parts 8vo, 8 00 

Part I. Non-metallic Materials of Engineering and Metallurgy 8vo, 2 00 

Part II. Iron and Steel 8vo, 3 50 

Part III. A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes, and Other Alloys and their 

Constituents 8vo, 2 50 

Tillson's Street Pavements and Paving Materials 8vo, 4 00 

Turneaure and Maurer's Principles of Reinforced Concrete Construction.. .8vo, 3 00 
Wood's (De V.) Treatise on the Resistance of Materials, and an Appendix on 

the Preservation of Timber 8vo, 2 00 

Wood's (M. P.) Rustless Coatings: Corrosion and Electrolysis of Iron and 

Steel 8vo, 4 00 



RAILWAY ENGINEERING. 

Andrews's Handbook for Street Railway Engineers 3x5 inches, mor. 

Berg's Buildings and Structures of American Railroads 4to, 

Brooks's Handbook of Street Railroad Location i6mo, mor. 

Butt's Civil Engineer's Field-book i6mo, mor. 

Crandall's Railway and Other Earthwork Tables 8vo, 

Transition Curve i6mo, mor. 

* Crockett's Methods for Earthwork Computations 8vo, 

Dawson's "Engineering" and Electric Traction Pocket-book i6mo, mor. 

Dredge's History of the Pennsylvania Railroad: (1879) Paper, 

Fisher's Table of Cubic Yards Cardboard, 

Godwin's Railroad Engineers' Field-book and Explorers' Guide. . . i6mo, mor. 
Hudson's Tables for Calculating the Cubic Contents of Excavations and Em- 
bankments 8vo, 1 00 

Ives and Hilts's Problems in Surveying, Railroad Surveying and Geodesy 

i6mo, mor. 1 50 

Molitor and Beard's Manual for Resident Engineers i6mo, 1 00 

Nagle's Field Manual for Railroad Engineers i6mo, mor. 3 00 

Philbnck's Field Manual for Engineers i6mo, mor. 3 00 

Raymond's Railroad Engineering. 3 volumes. 

Vol. I. Railroad Field Geometry. (In Preparation.) 

Vol. II. Elements of Railroad Engineering 8vo, 3 50 

Vol III. Railroad Engineer's Field Book. (In Preparation.) 

Searles's Field Engineering i6mo, mor. 3 00 

Railroad Spiral i6mo, mor. 1 50 

Taylor's Prismoidal Formula? and Earthwork 8vo, 1 50 

*Trautwine's Field Practice of Laying Out Circular Curves for Railroads. 

i2mo. mor, 2 50 

* Method of Calculating the Cubic Contents of Excavations and Embank- 

ments by the Aid of Diagrams 8vo, 2 00 

Webb's Economics of Railroad Construction. . ., Large i2mo, 2 50 

Railroad Construction i6mo, mor. 5 00 

Wellington's Economic Theory of the Location of Railways Small 8vo, 5 00 

DRAWING. 

Barr's Kinematics of Machinery 8vo, 2 50 

* Bartlett's Mechanical Drawing 8vo, 3 00 

* " " " Abridged Ed 8vo, 1 50 

Coolidge's Manual of Drawing 8vo, paper, 1 00 

Coolidge and Freeman's Elements of General Drafting for Mechanical Engi- 
neers Oblong 4to, 2 50 

Durley's Kinematics of Machines 8vo, 4 00 

Emch's Introduction to Projective Geometry and its Applications Svo, 2 50 

Hill's Text-book on Shades and Shadows, and Perspective 8vo, 2 00 

Jamison's Advanced Mechanical Drawing 8vo, 2 00 

Elements of Mechanical Drawing 8vo, 2 50 

Jones's Machine Design: 

Part I. Kinematics of Machinery 8vo, 1 50 

Part II. Form, Strength, and Proportions of Parts 8vo, 3 00 

MacCord's Elements of Descriptive Geometry 8vo, 3 oc 

Kinematics; or, Practical Mechanism 8vo, 5 00 

Mechanical Drawing 4T0, 4 00 

Velocity Diagrams 8vo, 1 50 

McLeod's Descriptive Geometry Large i2mo, 1 5c 

* Mahan's Descriptive Geometry and Stone-cutting 8vo, 1 50 

Industrial Drawing. (Thompson.) 8vo, 3 50 

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Moyer's Descriptive Geometry 8vo, 

Reed's Topographical Drawing and Sketching 4to, 

Reid's Course in Mechanical Drawing 8vo, 

Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary Machine Design. 8vo, 

Robinson's Principles of Mechanism 8vo, 

Schwamb and Merrill's Elements of Mechanism 8vo, 

Smith's (R. S.) Manual of Topographical Drawing. (McMillan.) 8vo, 

Smith (A. W.) and Marx's Machine Design 8vo, 

* Titsworth's Elements of Mechanical Drawing Oblong 8vo, 

barren's Drafting Instruments and Operations 12 mo, 

Elements of Descriptive Geometry, Shadows, and Perspective 8vo, 

Elements of Machine Construction and Drawing 8vo, 

Elements of Plane and Solid Free-hand Geometrical Drawing. . . 1 .2mo, 

General Problems of Shades and Shadows 8vo, 

Manual of Elementary Problems in the Linear Perspective of Form and 

Shadow i2mo, 1 00 

Manual of Elementary Projection Drawing. , i2mo, 1 50 

Plane Problems in Elementary Geometry i2mo, 1 25 

Problems, Theorems, and Examples in Descriptive Geometry 8vo, 2 50 

Weisbach's Kinematics and Power of Transmission. (Hermann and 

Klein.) 8vo, 5 00 

Wilson's (H. M.) Topographic Surveying 8vo, 3 50 

Wilson's (V. T.) Free-hand Lettering 8vo, 1 00 

Free-hand Perspective 8vo, 2 50 

Woolf's Elementary Course in Descriptive Geometry Large 8vo, 3 oo- 

ELECTRICITY AND PHYSICS. 

* Abegg's Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation, (von Ende.) nmo, 

Andrews's Hand-Book for Street Railway Engineering 3X5 inches, mor., 

Anthony and Brackett's Text-book of Physics. (Magie.) Large nmo, 

Anthony's Lecture-notes on the Theory of Electrical Measurements. . . .nmo, 
Benjamin's History of Electricity 8vo, 

Voltaic Cell 8vo, 

Betts's Lead Refining and Electrolysis 8vo, 

Classen's Quantitative Chemical Analysis by Electrolysis. (Boltwood.).8vo, 

* Collins's Manual of Wireless Telegraphy nmo, 

Mor. 
Crehore and Squier's Polarizing Photo-chronograph • 8vo, 

* Danneel's Electrochemistry. (Merriam.) nmo, 

Dawson's "Engineering" and Electric Traction Pockei-book i6mo, mor 

Dolezalek's Theory of the Lead Accumulator (Storage Battery), (von Ende.) 

^ nmo, 

Duhem's Thermodynamics and Chemistry. (Burgess.) 8vo, 

Flather's Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power nmo, 3 00 

Gilbert's De Magnete. (Mottelay.) 8vo, 2 50 

* Hanchett's Alternating Currents nmo, 1 00 

Hering's Ready Reference Tables (Conversion Factors) i6mo, mor. 2 50 

Hobart and Ellis's High-speed Dynamo Electric Machinery. (In Press.) 

Holman's Precision of Measurements 8vo, 2 00 

Telescopic Mirror-scale Method, Adjustments, and Tests. . . .Large 8vo, 75 

* Karapetoff's Experimental Electrical Engineering 8vo, 6 00 

Kinzbrunner's Testing of Continuous-current Machines 8vo, 2 00 

Landauer's Spectrum Analysis. (Tingle.) 8vo, 3 00 

Le Chatelier's High-temperature Measurements. (Boudouard — Burgess.) nmo, 3 00 

Lob's Electrochemistry of Organic Compounds. (Lorenz.) 8vo, 3 00 

* Lyndon's Development and Electrical Distribntion of Water Power . . . .8vo, 3 00 

* Lyons's Treatise on Electromagnetic Phenomena. Vols. I. and II. 8vo, each, 6 00 

* Michie's Elements of Wave Motion Relating to Sound and Light 8vo, 4 00 

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Morgan's Outline of the Theory of Solution and its Results nmo, 1 00 

* Physical Chemistry for Electrical Engineers i2mo, 1 50 

Niaudet's Elementary Treatise on Electric Batteries. (Fishback) . . . . i2mo. 2 50 

* Norris's Introduction to the Study of Electrical Engineering 8vo, 2 50 

* Parshall and Hobart's Electric Machine Design 4to, half morocco, 12 50 

Reagan's Locomotives: Simple, Compound, and Electric. New Edition. 

Large 12 mo, 3 50 

* Rosenberg's Electrical Engineering. (Haldane Gee — Kinzbrunner.). . 8vo, 2 00 

Ryan, Norris, and Hoxie's Electrical Machinery. Vol. 1 8vo, 2 50 

Swapper's Laboratory Guide for Students in Physical Chemistry i2mo, 1 00 

Thurston's Stationary Steam-engines. 8vo, 2 £0 

* Tillman's Elementary Lessons in Heat 8vo, 1 50 

Tory and Pitcher's Manual of Laboratory Physics Large i2mo, 2 00 

Ulke's. Modern Electrolytic Copper Refining 1 8 Svo, 3 00 

LAW. 

* Davis's Elements of Law 8vo, 2 50 

* Treatise on the Military Law of United States 8vo, 7 00 

* Sheep, 

* Dudley's Military Law and the Procedure cf Courts-martial . . . .Large 121110, 

Manual for Courts-martial i6mo, mor. 

Wait's Engineering and Architectural Jurisprudence 8vo, 

Sheep, 

Law of Contracts 8vo, 

Law of Operations Preliminary to Construction in Engineering and Archi- 
tecture 8vo 

Sheep, 
MATHEMATICS. 

Baker's Elliptic Functions Svo, 1 50 

Briggs's Elements of Plane Analytic Geometry. (Bocher) nmo, 1 00 

* Buchanan's Plane and Spherical Trigonometry 8vo, 1 00 

Byerley's Harmonic Functions 8vo, 1 00 

Chandler's Elements of the Infinitesimal Calculus nmo, 2 00 

Compton's Manual of Logarithmic Computations nmo, 1 50 

Davis's Introduction to the Logic of Algebra 8vo, 1 50 

* Dickson's College Algebra Large nmo, 1 50 

* Introduction to the Theory of Algebraic Equations Large nmo, 1 25 

Emch's Introduction to Projective Geometry and its Applications 8vo, 2 50 

Fiske's Functions of a Complex Variable 8vo, 1 00 

Halsted's Elementary Synthetic Geometry 8vo, 1 50 

Elements of Geometry 8vo, 1 75 

* Rational Geometry nmo, 1 50 

Hyde's Grassmann's Space Analysis 8vo, 1 00 

* Jonnson's (J B,) Three-place Logarithmic Tables: Vest-pocket size, paper, 15 

100 copies, s 00 

* Mounted on heavy cardboard, 8 X 10 inches, 25 

10 copies, 2 00 
Johnson's ( W. W.) Abridged Editions of Differential and Integral Calculus 

Large nmo, 1 vol. 2 50 

Curve Tracing in Cartesian Co-ordinates nmo, 1 00 

Differential Equations 8vo, 1 00 

Elementary Treatise on Differential Calculus. (In Press.) 

kler icntary Treatise on the Integral Calculus Large nmoi 1 50 

* Theoretical Mechanics nmo, 3 00 

Theory of Errors and the Method of Least Squares nmo, 1 50 

Treatise on Differential Calculus Large nmo, 3 00 

Treatise on the Integral Calculus Large nmo, 3 00 

Treatise on Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations. .Large nmo, 3 50 

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Laplace's Philosophical Essay on Probabilities. (Truscott and Emory. ).i2mo, 2 00 

* Ludlow and Bass's Elements of Trigonometry and Logarithmic and Other 

Tables 8vo, 3 00 

Trigonometry and Tables published separately Each, 2 00 

* Ludlow's Logarithmic and Trigonometric Tables .... 8vo, 1 00 

Macfarlane's Vector Analysis and Quaternions 8vo, 1 00 

McMahon's Hyperbolic Functions 8vo, 1 00 

Manning's IrrationalNumbers and their Representation bySequences and Series 

i2mo, 1 25 
Mathematical Monographs. Edited by Mansfield Merriman and Robert 

S. Woodward Octavo, each 1 00 

No. 1. History of Modern Mathematics, by David Eugene Smith. 
No. 2. Synthetic Projective Geometry, by George Bruce Halsted. 
No. 3. Determinants, by Laenas Gifford Weld. No. 4. Hyper- 
bolic Functions, by James McMahon. Ko. s. Harmonic Func- 
tions, by William E. Byerly. No. 6. Grassmann's Space Analysis, 
by Edward W.' Hyde. No. 7. Probability and Theory of Errors, 
by Robert S. Woodward. No. 8. Vector Analysis and Quaternions, 
by Alexander Macfarlane. No. 9. Differential Equations, by 
William Woolsey Johnson. No. 10. The Solution of Equations, 
by Mansfield Merriman. No. 11. Functions of a Complex Variable, 
by Thomas S. Fiske. 

Maurer's Technical Mechanics 8vo, 4 00 

Mertlman's Method of Least Squares 8vo, 2 00 

Solution of Equations 8vo, I 00 

Rice and Johnson's Differential and Integral Calculus. 2 vols, in one. 

Large i2mo, 1 50 

Elementary Treatise on the Differential Calculus Large nmo, 3 00 

Smith's History of Modern Mathematics 8vo, 1 00 

* Veblen and Lennes's Introduct ; on to the Real Infinitesimal Analysis of One 

Variable 8vo, 2 00 

* Waterbury's Vest Pocket Hand-Book of Mathematics for Engineers. 

25X53 inches, mor., 1 00 

Weld's Determinations 8vo, 1 00 

Wood's Elements of Co-ordinate Geometry 8vo, 2 00 

Woodward's Probability and Theory of Errors 8vo, 1 00 

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. 
MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING, STEAM-ENGINES AND BOILERS. 

Bacon's Forge Practice nmo, 1 50 

Baldwin's Steam Heating for Buildings nmo, 2 50 

Bair's Kinematics of Machinery 8vo, 2 50 

* Bartlett's Mechanical Drawing 8vo, 3 00 

* " " " Abridged Ed 8vo, 1 50 

Benjamin's Wrinkles and Recipes nmo, 2 00 

* Burr's Ancient and Modern Engineering and the Isthmian Canal 8vo, .3 50 

Carpenter's Experimental Engineering 8vo, 6 00 

Heating and Ventilating Buildings 8vo, 4 00 

Clerk's Gas and Oil Engine Large nmo, 4 00 

Compton's First Lessons in Metal Working nmo, 1 50 

Compton and De Groodt's Speed Lathe nmo, 1 50 

Coolidge's Manual of Drawing 8vo, paper, 1 00 

Ccolidge and Freeman's Elements of General Drafting for Mechanical En- 
gineers Oblong 4to, 2 50 

Cromwell's Treatise on Belts and Pulleys nmo, 1 50 

Treatise on Toothed Gearing nmo, 1 50 

Durley's Kinematics of Machines 8vo, 4 00 

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Flather's Dynamometers and the Measurement of Power, i2mo, 3 

Rope Driving i2mo, 2 

Gill's Gas and Fuel Analysis for Engineers i2mo, 1 

GossV, Locomotive Sparks 8vo, 2 

Hall's Car Lubrication nmo, 1 

Hering's Ready Reference Tables (Conversion Factors) i6mo, mor., 2 

Hobart and Eliis's High Speed Dynamo Electric Machinery. (In Press.) 

Hutton's Gas Engine 8vo, 5 

Jamison's Advanced Mechanical Drawing 8vo, 2 

Elements of Mechanical Drawing 8vo, 2 

Jones's Machine Design: 

Part I. Kinematics of Machinery 8vo, 1 

Part II. Form, Strength, and Proportions of Parts 8vo, 3 

Kent's Mechanical Engineers' Pocket-book i6mo, mor , 5 

Kerr's Power and Power Transmission 8vo, 2 

Leonard's Machine Shop Tools and Methods 8vo, 4 

* Lorenz's Modern Refrigerating Machinery. (Pope, Haven, and Dean.) . . 8vo, 4 
MacCord's Kinematics; or, Practical Mechanism 8vo, 5 

Mechanical Drawing 4to, 4 

Velocity Diagrams 8vo, 1 

MacFar land's Standard Reduction Factors for Gases 8vo, 1 

Mahan's Industrial Drawing. (Thompson.) 8vo, 3 

* Parshall and Hobart's Electric Machine Design Small 4to, half leather, 12 

Peele's Compressed Air Plant for Mines. (In Press.) 

Poole's Calorific Power of Fuels 8vo, 3 

* Porter's Engineering Reminiscences, 1855 to 1882 8vo, 3 

Reid's Course in Mechanical Drawing 8vo, 2 

Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary Machine Design. 8vo, 

Richard's Compressed Air i2mo, 

Robinson's Principles of Mechanism 8vo, 

Schwamb and Merrill's Elements of Mechanism 8vo, 

Smith's (O.) Press- working of Metals 8vo, 

Smith (A. W.) and Marx's Machine Design 8vo, 

Sorel ' s Carbureting and Combustion in Alcohol Engines . (Woodward and Preston) . 

Large 12 mo, 3 
Thurston's Animal as a Machine and Prime Motor, and the Laws of Energetics. 

i2mo, 1 

Treatise on Friction and Lost Work in Machinery and Mill Work... 8vo, 3 

Tillson's Complete Automobile Instructor i6mo, 1 

mor., 2 

* Titsworth's Elements of Mechanical Drawing Oblong 8vo, 1 

Warren's Elements of Machine Construction and Drawing 8vo, 7 

* Waterbury's Vest Pocket Hand Book of Mathematics for Engineers. 

2iX Si inches, mor., 1 
Weisbach's Kinematics and the Power of Transmission. (Herrmann — 

Klein.) 8vo, 5 

Machinery of Transmission and Governors. (Herrmann — Klein.). .8vo, 5 

Wolff's Windmill as a Prime Mover 8vo, 3 

Wood's Turbines 8vo, 2 

MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING. 

* Bovey's Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures 8vo, 7 

Burr's Elasticity and Resistance of the Materials of Engineering .8vo, 7 

Church's Mechanics of Engineering 8vo, 6 

* Greene's Structural Mechanics 8vo, 2 

Holley and Ladd's Analysis of Mixed Paints, Color Pigments, and Varnishes. 

Large nmo, 2 

Johnson's Materials of Construction 8vo, 6 

Keep's Cast Iron 8vo, 2 

Lanza's Applied Mechanics 8vo, 7 

14 



Maire's Modern Pigments and their Vehicles nmo, 2 00 

JVTartens's Handbook on Testing Materials. (Henning.) 8vo, 7 50 

Maurer's Technical Mechanics 8vo, 4 00 

Merriman's Mechanics of Materials 8vo, 5 00 

-* Strength of Materials i2mo, 1 00 

Metcalf's Steel. A Manual for Steel-users i2mo, 2 00 

Sabin's Industrial and Artistic Technology of Paints and Varnish 8vo, 3 00 

Smith's Materials of Machines nmo, 1 00 

Thurston's Materials of Engineering 3 vols., 8vo, 8 00 

Part I. Non-metallic Materials of Engineering, see Civil Engineering, 
page 9. 

Part II. Iron and Steel 8vo, 3 50 

Part III. A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes, and Other Alloys and their 

Constituents 8vo, 2 50 

Wood's (De V.) Elements of Analytical Mechanics 8vo, 3 00 

Treatise on the Resistance of Materials and an Appendix on the 

Preservation of Timber 8vo, 2 00 

Wood's (M. P.) Rustless Coatings: Corrosion and Electrolysis? of Iron and 

Steel. 8vo, 4 00 

STEAM-ENGINES AND BOIIERS. 

Berry's Temperature-entropy Diagram i2mo, 1 25 

Carnot's Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat. (Thurston.) i2mo, 1 50 

■Chase's Art of Pattern Making i2mo, 2 50 

Creighton's Steam-engine and other Heat-motors 8vo, 500 

Dawson's "Engineering" and Electric Traction Pocket-book. . . .i6mo, mor., 5 00 

Ford's Boiler Making for Boiler Makers i8mo, 1 00 

Goss's Locomotive Performance 8vo, 5 00 

Hemenway's Indicator Practice and Steam-engine Economy nmo, 2 00 

Hutton's Heat and Heat-engines 8vo. 5 00 

Mechanical Engineering of Power Plants 8vo, 5 00 

Kent's Steam boiler Economy 8vo, 4 00 

Kneass's Practice and Theory of the Injector 8vo, 1 50 

MacCord's Slide-valves 8vo, 2 00 

Meyer's Modern Locomotive Construction 4to, 10 00 

Moyer's Steam Turbines. (Tn Press.) 

Peabody's Manual of the Steam-engine Indicator i2mo, 1 50 

Tables of the Properties of Saturated Steam and Other Vapors 8vo, 1 00 

Thermodynamics of the Steam-engine and Other Heat-engines 8vo, 5 00 

Valve-gears for Steam-engines 8vo, 2 50 

Peabody and Miller's Steam-boilers 8vo, 4 00 

Pray's Twenty Years with the Indicator Large 8vo, 2 50 

Pupin's Thermodynamics of Reversible Cycles in Gases and Saturated Vapors. 

(Osterberg.) i2mo, 1 2g 

Reagan's Locomotives: Simple, Compound, and Electric. New Edition. 

Large 12 mo, 3 50 

Sinclair's Locomotive Engine Running and Management i2mo, 2 00 

Smart's Handbook of Engineering Laboratory Practice nmo, 2 50 

Snow's Steam-boiler Practice 8vo, 3 00 

Spangfer's Notes on Thermodynamics i2mo, 1 00 

Valve-gears 8vo, 2 50 

Spaagler, Greene, and Marshall's Elements of Steam-engineering 8vo, 3 00 

Thomas's Steam-turbines 8vo, 4 00 

Thurston's Handbook of Engine and Boiler Trials, and the Use of the Indi- 
cator and the Prony Brake 8vo, 5 00 

Handy Tables 8vo, 1 50 

Manual of Steam-boilers, their Designs, Construction, and Operation.. 8vo, 5 00 
15 



Thurston's Manual of the Steam-engine 2 vols., 8vo, 10 00 

Part I. History, Structure, and Theory , . .8vo, 6 00 

Part II. Design, Construction, and Operation 8vo, 6 00 

Stationary Steam-engines 8vo, 2 50 

Steam-boiler Explosions in Theory and in Practice 12mo, I 50 

Wehrenfenning's Analysis and Softening of Boiler Feed-water (Patterson) 8vo, 4 00 

Weisbach's Heat, Steam, and Steam-engines. (Du Bois.) 8vo, 5 00 

Whitham's Steam-engine Design 8vo, 5 00 

Wood's Thermodynamics, Heat Motors, and Refrigerating Machines. . .8vo, 4 00 

MECHANICS PURE AND APPLIED. 

Church's Mechanics of Engineering 8vo, 6 00 

Notes and Examples in Mechanics 8vo, 2 00 

Dana's Test-book of Elementary Mechanics for Colleges and Schools. .i2mo, 1 50 
Du Bois's Elementary Principles of Mechanics: 

Vol. I. Kinematics 8vo, 3 50 

Vol. II. Statics 8vo, 4 00 

Mechanics of Engineering. Vol. I Small 4to, 7 50 

Vol. II Small 4to, 10 00 

* Greene : s Structural Mechanics '. 8vo, 2 50 

James's Kinematics of a Point and the Rational Mechanics of a Particle. 

Large 12mo, 2 00 

* Johnson's (W. W.) Theoretical Mechanics 12mo, 3 00 

Lanza's Applied Mechanics 8vo, 7 50 

* Martin's Text Book on Mechanics, Vol. I, Statics 12mo, 1 25 

* Vol. 2, Kinematics and Kinetics . .i2mo, 1 50 
Maurer's Technical Mechanics 8vo, 4 00 

* Merriman's Elements of Mechanics 12mo, 1 00 

Mechanics of Materials 8vo, 5 00 

* Michie's Elements of Analytical Mechanics 8vo, 4 00 

Robinson's Principles of Mechanism 8vo, 3 00 

Sanborn's Mechanics Problems Large 12mo, 1 50 

Schwamb and Merrill's Elements of Mechanism 8vo, 3 00 

Wood's Elements of Analytical Mechanics 8vo, 3 00 

Principles of Elementary Mechanics 12mo, I 25 

MEDICAL. 

Abderhalden's Physiological Chemistry in Thirty Lectures. (Hall and Defren). 

(In Press), 
von Behring's Suppression of Tuberculosis. (Bolduan.) i2mo, 1 00 

* Bolduan's Immune Sera i2mo, 1 50 

Davenport's Statistical Methods with Special Reference to Biological Varia- 
tions i6mo, mor., 1 50 

Ehrlich's Collected Studies on Immunity. (Bolduan.) 8vo, 6 00 

* Fischer's Physiology of Alimentation Large i2mo, cloth, 2 00 

de Fursac's Manual of Psychiatry. (Rosanoff and Collins.) Large i2mo, 2 50 

Hammarsten's Text-book on Physiological Chemistry. (Mandel.) 8vo, 4 00 

Jackson's Directions for Laboratory Work in Physiological Chemistry. ..8vo, 1 25 

Lassar-Cohn's Practical Urinary Analysis. (Lo'renz.) nmo, 1 00 

Mandel's Hand Book for the Bio-Chemical Laboratory i2mo, 1 50 

* Pauli's Physical Chemistry in the Service of Medicine. (Fischer.) .... i2mo, 1 25 

* Pozzi-Escot's Toxins and Venoms and their Antibodies. (Cohn. ) 1 2mo, 1 00 

Rostoski's Serum Diagnosis. (Bolduan.) i2mo, 1 00 

Ruddiman's Incompatibilities in Prescriptions 8vo, 2 00 

Whys in Pharmacy nmo, 1 00 

Salkowski's Physiological and Pathological Chemistry. (Orndorff.) 8vo, 2 50 

* Satterlee's Outlines of Human Embryology i2mo, 1 25 

Smith's Lecture Notes on Chemistry for Dental Students 8vo, 2 50 

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Steel's Treatise on the Diseases of the Dog 8vo, 3 50 

* Whipple's Typhoid Fever Large nmo, 3 00 

Woodhull's Notes on Military Hygiene i6mo, 1 50 

* Personal Hygiene 12010, 1 00 

Worcester and Atkinson's Small Hospitals Establishment and Maintenance, 

and Suggestions for Hospital Architecture, with Plans for a Small 

Hospital nmo, 1 25 

METALLURGY. 

Betts's Lead Refining by Electrolysis 8vo. 4 00 

Bolland's Encyclopedia of Founding and Dictionary of Foundry Terms Used 

in the Practice of Moulding l2mo, 3 00 

Iron Founder l2mo. 2 50 

" " Supplement l2mo, 2 50 

Douglas's Untechnical Addresses on Technical Subjects l2mo, 1 00 

Goesel's Minerals and Metals: A Reference Book , . . . . i6mo, mor. 3 00 

* Iles's Lead-smelting 12mo, 2 50 

Keep's Cast Iron 8vo, 2 50 

Le Chatelier's High-temperature Measurements. (Boudouard — Burgess.) 12mo, 3 00 

Metcalf's Steel. A Manual for Steel-users 12mo, 2 00 

Miller's Cyanide Process 12mo 1 00 

Minet's Production of Aluminum and its Industrial Use. (Waldo.). . . . 12mo, 2 50 

Robine and Lenglen's Cyanide Industry. (Le Clerc.) 8vo, 4 00 

Ruer's Elements of Metallography. (Mathewson). (In Press.) 

Smith's Materials of Machines 12mo, 1 00 

Thurston's Materials of Engineering. In Three Parts 8vo, 8 00 

part I. Non-metallic Materials of Engineering, see Civil Engineering, 
page 9. 

Part II. Iron and Steel 8vo, 3 50 

Part III. A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes, and Other Alloys and their 

Constituents 8vo, 2 50 

Ulke's Modern Electrolytic Copper Refining 8vo, 3 00 

West's American Foundry Practice 12mo, 2 50 

Moulders Text Book 12mo, 2 50 

Wilson's Chlorination Process 12mo, 1 50 

Cyanide Processes 12mo, 1 50 

MINERALOGY. 

Barringer's Description of Minerals of Commercial Value. Oblong, morocco, 2 50 

Boyd's Resources of Southwest Virginia 8vo 3 00 

Boyd's Map of Southwest Virginia Pocket-book form. 2 00 

* Browning's Introduction to the Rarer Elements Svo, 1 50 

Brush's Manual of Determinative Mineralogy. (Penfield.) 8vo, 4 00 

Butler's Pocket Hand-Book of Minerals 16mo, mor. 3 00 

Chester's Catalogue of Minerals 8vo, paper, 1 00 

Cloth, 1 25 
Crane's Gold and Silver. (In Press.) 

Dana's First Appendix to Dana's New " System of Mineralogy. .". .Large 8vo, 1 00 

Manual of Mineralogy and Petrography nmo 2 no 

Minerals and How to Study Them nmo, 1 50 

System of Mineralogy Large 8vo, half leather, 12 50 

Text-book of Mineralogy 8vo, 4 00 

Douglas's Untechnical Addresses on Technical Subjects nmo, r 00 

Eakle's Mineral Tables 8vo, 1 25 

Stone and Clay Froducts Used in Engineering. (In Preparation). 

Egleston's Catalogue of Minerals and Synonyms 8vo, 2 50 

Goesel's Minerals and Metals : A Reference Book i6mo, mor. 3 00 

Groth's Introduction to Chemical Crystallography (Marshall) nmo, 1 25 

17 



* Iddings's Rock Minerals 8vo, 5 00 

Johannsen's Determination of Rock-forming Minerals in Thin Sections 8vo, 4 00 

* Martin's Laboratory Guide to Qualitative Analysis with the Blowpipe. 121110, 60 
Merrill's Non-metallic Minerals: Their Occurrence and Uses 8vo, 4 00 

Stones for Building and Decoration 8vo, 500 

* Penfield's Notes on Determinative Mineralogy and Record of Mineral Tests. 

8vo, paper, 50 
Tables of Minerals, Including the Use of Minerals and Statistics of 

Domestic Production 8vo, 1 00 

Pirsson's Rocks and Rock Minerals. (In Press.) 

* Richards's Synopsis of Mineral Characters i2mo, mor, 125 

* Ries's Clays: Their Occurrence, Properties, and Uses 8vo, 5 00 

* Tillman's Text-book of Important Minerals and Rocks 8vo, 2 00 

MINING. 

* Beard's Mine Gases and Explosions Large i2mo, 3 00 

Boyd's Map of Southwest Virginia Pocket-book form, 2 00 

Resources of Southwest Virginia 8vo, 3 00 

Crane's Gold and Silver. (In Press.) 

Douglas's Untechnical Addresses on Technical Subjects i2mo, I 00 

Eissler's Modern High Explosives .8vo. 4 00 

Goesel's Minerals and Metals : A Reference Book. . , i6mo, mor. 3 00 

Ihlseng's Manual of Mining 8vo, 5 00 

* Iles's Lead-smelting. i2mo, 2 50 

Miller's Cyanide Process i2mo, 1 00 

O'Driscoll's Notes on the Treatment of Gold Ores Svo, 2 00 

Peele's Compressed Air Plant for Mines. (In Press. ) 

Riemer's Shaft Sinking Under Difficult Conditions. (Corning and Peele) . . .8vo, 3 00 

Robine and Lenglen's Cyanide Industry. (Le Clerc.) 8vo, 4 00 

* Weaver's Military Explosives -. 8vo, 3 00 

Wilson's Chlorination Process umo, 1 50 

Cyanide Processes i2mo, 1 50 

Hydraulic and Placer Mining. 2d edition, rewritten i2mo, 2 50 

Treatise on Practical and Theoretical Mine Ventilation i2mo, 1 25 

SANITARY SCIENCE. 

Association of State and National Food and Dairy Departments, Hartford Meeting, 

1906 , 8vo, 3 00 

Jamestown Meeting, 1907 8vo, 3 00 

* Bashore's Outlines of Practical Sanitation 12mo, 1 25 

Sanitation of a Country House 12mo, 1 00 

Sanitation of Recreation Camps and Parks . .• 12mo, 1 00 

Folwell's Sewerage. (Designing, Construction, and Maintenance.) 8vo, 3 00 

Water-supply Engineering 8vo, 4 00 

Fowler's Sewage Works Analyses 12mo, 2 00 

Fuertes's Water-filtration Works 12mo, 2 50 

Water and Public Health 12mo, 1 so 

Gerhard's Guide to Sanitary House-inspection 16mo, 1 00 

* Modern Baths and Bath Houses 8vo, 3 00 

Sanitation of Public Buildings 12mo, 1 50 

Hazen's Clean Water and How to Get It Large l2mo, 1 50 

Filtration of Public Water-supplies 8vo f 3 00 

Xinnicut, Winslow and Pratt's Purification of Sewage. (In Press.) 

Leach's Inspection and Analysis of Food with Special Reference to State 

Control 8vo, 7 00 

Mason's Examination of Water. (Chemical a::d Bacteriological) 12mo, 1 25 

Water-supply. (Considered principally from a Sanitary Ctandpoint) . . 8vo, a. 00 
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* Merriman's Elements of Sanitary Engineering 8vo, 2 00 

Ogden's Sewer Design 12mo, 2 00 

Parsons's Disposal of Municipal Refuse 8vo, 2 00 

Prescott and Winslow's Elements of Water Bacterielogy, with Special Refer- 
ence to Sanitary Water Analysis 12mo, 1 50 

* Price's Handbook on Sanitation 12mo, 1 50 

Richards's Cost of Food. A Study in Dietaries 12mo, 1 00 

Cost of Living as ModL.ed by Sanitary Science 12mo, 1 00 

Cost of Shelter 12mo, 1 00 

* Richards and Williams's Dietary Computer 8vo, 1 50 

Richards and Woodman's Air, Water, and Food from a Sanitary Stand- 
point 8vo, 2 00 

Rideal's Disinfection and the Preservation of Food 8vo, 4 00 

Sewage and Bacterial Purification of Sewage 8vo, 4 00 

Soper's Air and Ventilation of Subways. (In Press.) 

Turneaure and Russell's Public Water-supplies 8vo, 5 00 

Venable's Garbage Crematories in America 8vo, 2 00 

Method and Devices for Bacterial Treatment of Sewage 8vo, 3 00 

Ward and Whipple's Freshwater Biology. (In Press. ) 

Whipple's Microscopy of Drinking-water 8vo, 3 50 

* Typhod Fever Large 12mo, 3 00 

Value of Pure Water Large 12mo, 1 00 

Winton's Microscopy of Vegetable Foods 8vo, 7 50 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Emmons's Geological Guide-book of the Rocky Mountain Excursion of the 

International Congress of Geologists Large 8vo, 1 50 

Ferrel's Popular Treatise on the Winds 8vo, 4 00 

Fitzgerald's Boston Machinist i8mo, 1 oo 

Gannett's Statistical Abstract of the World 24mo, 75 

Haines's American Railway Management 12mo, 2 50 

* Hanusek's The Microscopy of Technical Products. (Winton^ 8vo, 5 00 

Ricketts's History of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1824-1804. 

Large i2mo, 3 00 

Rotherham's Emphasized New Testament r Large 8vo, 2 00 

Standage's Decoration of Wood, Glass, Metal, etc 12mo, 2 00 

Thome's Structural and Physiological Botany. (Bennett) 16mo, 2 25 

Westermaier's Compendium of General Botany. (Schneider) 8vo, 2 00 

Winslow's Elements of Applied Microscopy 12mo, 1 50 



HEBREW AND CHALDEE TEXT-BOOKS. 

Green's Elementary Hebrew Grammar nmo, 1 25 

Gesenius's Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. 

(Tregelles.) Small 4to, half morocco, 5 00 

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